
GojiyiightN^_ 

Ci>iOfRIGHT DEPOSm 




THE BIRTHPLACE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



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SIGNATURES TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCIL 



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'wS?"*^ 




PICTURESQUE SKETCHES 



AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



COMPRISING 



©fficial HJescriplioas of aearly iOO ^^raericaa (Lities, 



PREPARED UNDER 



The Supervision of the Authorities of the Respective Cities, 

showing theie origin, development, present condition, 
commerce and manufactures. 

AMERICAN SCENERY. 



CELEBPL^TEr) PiE^LTX^ PLESOR.TS. 

THE 

GeVERNMENT AT WASHINGT0N, 

TJlSriDEIi THE "V.A.I?,IO"CrS -A.ID]VEIISriSTIi.A-TI01STS. 

THE WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENTS OF 

OUR COUNTRY. 

V BY 

William Gay and J. H.^Beale, M.A. 

BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 1 50 ENGRAVINGS. 



(„JAN 11 1888/5' 



r\ ' 






NEW YORK: 

The: Eivipire is/eanukacturinq housb. 



COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY WILLIAM GAY. 



ANNOUNCEMENT 



How few realize that the State of Texas is larger than the German Empire 
or than Austro-Hungary, and that California is half as large again as Italy, or 
that Florida is larger than England and Wales. It has been stated on good 
authority that the whole quantity of cotton used in the world could be grown 
on 1,900 square miles, or less than one-fourteenth of the State of Texas. 
Belgium has 482 inhabitants to the square mile, and Great Britain 290, while 
the United States, exclusive of Alaska, have less than 14. Should the density 
of Great Britain ever be attained, there will be upwards of 1,000,000,000 
Americans. The marvellous progress made since 1880 in the settlement of 
the new regions thrown open by railways completed since that date can 
hardly be realized. The population of Dakota has quadrupled in five years, 
and its wheat crop last year was 30,000,000 bushels, twice as great as the 
whole crop of Egypt. The growth of American cities seems no less astonish- 
ing than that of the States. New York has doubled her population in half the 
time that London has doubled hers (35 years); while Great Britain and Ipeland 
expend annually upon education $33,500,000, the United States expend 
$93,000,000, which is more than is spent by the whole of Continental Europe. 
Already America makes one-fifth of the iron and one-fourth of the steel of the 
world, and is second only to Great Britain in steel. The cotton industries, 
also, of this country are increasing nearly three times as fast as those of the 
rest of the world. From i860 to 1880 the consumption of cotton by our 
factories was increased by 140 per cent., while the consumption in Great 
Britain gained but 25 per cent. So, too, the American woolen industry has 
increased since i860 six times as fast as that of Great Britain; the consump- 
tion of wool by our mills in 18S0 being 320,000,000 pounds, against 338,000,000 
pounds in the United Kingdom. 

This work is arranged in the best and most convenient manner. Each 
great event in the progress of our country is sketched separately and complete 
in itself. The reader can pick it up at any moment, read a sketch, and lay it 
down until a more convenient time. The sketches of our great cities show 
their origin, development, and present importance ; their great industries, 
manufacturing, and commercial achievements ; their public institutions, rapid 
growth of population, etc., enabling the reader to form a correct opinion of 
each great city, its natural and acquired advantages, comparative growth, 
wealth, and characteristics. The work will be found to have a fascinating 
interest for all readers, young and old, and will be of inestimable value to 
every American and to those who would become familiar with the home of 
their adoption. 

(3) 



THE AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

TO THE 

IVTAYORS OK TMK VARIOUS CITIKS, 

BOARDS OF TRADE, CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, ETC^ 
Who have Generously Assisted in the Preparation of 

PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



The Author desires to express his thanks for the hearty co-operation of 
these gentlemen, and to acknowledge the great obligations under which he 
has been placed through the invaluable services rendered by them while the 
work was in progress, and takes this opportunity to testify to the courteous 
and liberal manner in which they ably seconded his efforts, not only by 
furnishing invaluable information concerning their respective cities, but in 
revising the proof-sheets, to guard against any possible inaccuracy of state- 
ment, and to include the very latest facts before going to press. He is 
anxious, especially, to acknowledge the eminent courtesies extended by the 
following gentlemen : 

Hon. Edmund Fitzgerald, Mayor of Troy, N. Y. 

Hon. Henry C. Kumpf, Mayor of Kansas City, Mo. 

Hon. J. E. BovD, Mayor of Omaha, Neb. 

Hon.. Geo. D. Hart, Mayor of Lynn, Mass. 

Hon. C. T. Denny, Mayor of Indianapolis, Ind. 

Hon. Ezra H. Ripple, Mayor of Scranton, Pa. 

Hon. Willis B. Burns, Mayor of Syracuse, N. Y. 

Hon. J. H. Dannettell, Mayor of Evansville, Ind. 

Hon. J. H. Stearns, Mayor of Manchester, N. H. 

Hon. Geo. W. Gardener, Mayor of Cleveland, O. 

Hon. Thomas A. Doyle, Mayor of Providence, R. I. 

Hon. Edmund Rice, Mayor of St. Paul, Minn. 
U) 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 5 

Hon. S. C. Wilson, Mayor of Harrisburg, Pa. 
Hon. Dr. John Woolverton, Mayor of Trenton, N. J. 
Hon. George F. Holcomb, Mayor of New Haven, Ct. 
Hon. C. B. Rhodes, Mayor of Wilmington, Del. 
Hon. J. C. Abbott, Mayor of Lowell, Mass. 
Hon. Thomas A. Kercheval, Mayor of Nashville, Tenn. 
Hon. Alex. McKay, Mayor of Hamilton, Ont. 
Hon. James C. Mackintosh, Mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. 
Hon. J. E. Bates, Mayor of Denver, Col. 
Hon. John L. Whiting, Mayor of Kingston, Ont. 
Hon. F. Langelier, Mayor of Quebec, Can. 
Hon. T. S. Bores De Veber, Mayor of St. John, N. B. 
Hon. Francis Armstrong, Mayor of Salt Lake City. 
Hon. H. Leauqran, Mayor of Montreal, Can. 
Hon. E. D. Hull, Mayor of Wilmington, N. C. 
Hon. Philip Beecher, Mayor of Buffalo, N. Y. 
His Honor Mayor Courtney, of Charleston, S. C. 
His Honor Mayor O'Brien, of Boston, Mass. 
His Honor Mayor Thacher, of Albany, N. Y. 

Wm. Stockell, President, and Pitkin C. Wright, Secretary of the Manu- 
facturers' and Mechanics' Association of Nashville, Tenn. 
David P. Hadden, President Taxing District, Shelby Co., Tenn. 
Prof. Jonathan Tenney, Albany, N. Y. 
Chas. G. Lord, Secretary Board of Trade, Columbus, O. 
Wm. F. Phelps, Secretary Chamber of Commerce, St. Paul, Minn. 
R. W. Luce, Secretary Board of Trade, Scranton, Pa. 
M. A. Fanning, Mayor's Secretary, St. Louis. 
W. P. Lett, City Clerk of Ottawa. 
Henry S. Thayer, Mayor's Secretary, Buffalo, N. Y. 
R. G. Neale, Mayor's Secretary, Charleston, S. C. 
Heber M. Wells, Recorder, Salt Lake City. 



TESTIMONIALS. 



Mayor's Ofijice, Nashville, Tenn. 
Oentletnen : — Your letter enclosing a brief history of Nashville came 
duly to hand, for ivhich I thank yon; it has been referred to a cominiitee 
of (jenllenien tvhotn we have organized on the subject, and in a few days I 
will be able to report to you the result of their work. 

Yours truly, 
THOU AS A. KEliCIlEVAL, Mayor, 

From the Manufacturers' and Mechanics' Ass* on of Nashville, Tenn. 
GentleTnen : — / have received your second proof on the City of NashviUe. 
I have examined it in all its details with great care and can vouch for the 
correctness of its statements. I regard it as complete, satisfactory, and as good 
and thorough a sketch as could he desired. 

WM. 8T0CKELL, President. 

PITKIN C. WRIGHT, Secretary. 
THOMAS A. KERCH EVAL, Mayor. 



Attest ] 



Mayor's Office, Hamilton, Ont. 
Gentlemen :— In answer to yours of the 26th tnst. with enclosed 
sketch of Hamilton I would say, it is very complete for the space occu- 
pied, and if the rest of the worJc is as correct it will be a valuable booh. 

I am, very truly yours, 

ALEX McKAY, Mayor. 

Otta-iva, Ontario. 
Oentlemen : — Tlie Mayor lias made some corrections of importance 
in your sketcb oftlie City of Ottawa, particul3F.rly in reference to trade, 
population, etc. Yours truly, 

H^. I». t.ETX, City Cleric. 

Mayor's Office, Buffalo, N. Y. 

Gentlemen: — In accordance with your request, I have devoted 
some little time to the preparation of an article on the City of 
Buffalo, which I transmit herewith, and can assure you of its cor^ 
redness, and would say that it has the approval of His Honor the 
Mayor, who is a representative business man, a member and ex= 
(President of the (Board of Trade, President of the German Insurance 
Co., and the head of the firm of (Philip (Beecher &" Co., Wholesale 
Grocers. Yours truly, 

HENRY S. THAYER, Mayor's Secretary. 

I am much pleased ^ritli tlte article on tlie City of Wilniin,«'toEi, Kel. 

C. 15. R3IOI>l!:!S), mayor. 

i 



I'lije fsIielcJi as it now stamls i» corret'S ; tltc MIj«..t«u- «iiro<'a>» me to 
ftSiank yoii for yoBiJ* courtesy s&uti kianSiie!*!*. 

Very Itespectl"iilly, 
FieAr«M E. KEIIAKEK, ClerU of Conncil. 

^he ai^ticLe an ^i^eiitan, J^. _f. , JP tkink Ll caf-^ect, ai^ mlLL 
ItE lU-Ltk t/ie CLddLiiati& ami cat'i'actLan& _f kaiie made an t/ie fz&aof. 

fl^aui^& tHdij., 

yakiL fiWaLtiei^tan, JPLai^ai^, 

^Ifoiii aRctcR- of ^oluumi* i/5 a Patt, itimai^cc)- jytatemenb 06 out 45itii. 

CHAS. G. LORD, 

Secretary Columbus Board of Trade. 



%y cu/K^ m^o^^'C LA.^u^LiL' ^o-u^i^, • 

It zvozdd he diffLorult to irrvpTO'ue on tuhcut youb say 
in this shetoh about Troy, JV. Y'. 

EDMUND FITZGERALD, Mayor. 






'Md, (^. S^u,^^<i^. c^i^^c^. 



I think the article on Evansville, Ind., is Tery satisfactory' and 

cannot he improved on. 

jr. H. DAJOJETTELL, Mayor. 



You have admirably succeeded in crowding a vast quantity of useful 
information in a very limited space. 

GEO. M. GARDNER, Mayor of Cleveland. 

In may opinion tl»e $4k:etcli of Manchester, N. II., is meritorious. com> 
prelsensive, am<l satisfactory. 

€;E0. O. stearics, Mayor. 



Your description of the City of Detroit is generally correct. 

J. A. WALSH, Mayor's Secretary. 

Mayor's Office, Davenport, Iowa. 
The article on the City of Davenport seems to be all right. 

E. C. CLEESSER, Mayor of Davenport. 

Mayor's Office, Milwaukee. 
Gentlemen ■ — Yours of the 29th ultimo, enclosing corrected proof of sketch 
of this city, is received. The Mayor wishes me to say to you that the sketch 
as now written is quite fair. Yours respectfully, 

F. PARINGER, Secretary. 

Mayor's Office, Kansas City. 

I have noted the exact assessed valuation of city property for 

i88j and 1886 — see corrections on proof — and regard your article as 

entirely truthful. 

HENRY C. KUMPF, Mayor. 

From the Mayor of Petersburgh, Va. 
No material changes can be made in your proof, as it is correct. 

Mayor^s Offixie, Kingston, Ont. 
Gentlemen : 

I Jiave just returned to the city and find your sketcJi of it. 
I believe it to be correct and a rtery fair description ; as suggested I 
have slightly amended it. 

Tours truly, 

JOHN L. WHITING. Mayor. 

Mayor's Office, Quebec. 

Gentlemen: — Enclosed I send you back your article on Quebec. 
It is as good an article as could be desired ; it gives a very fair and 
correct idea of our city. Yours truly, 

F. LAMGELEIR, Mayor of Quebec. 

Mayor's Office, Montreal, Can. 
Gentlemen : — I return to you herewith the proof of the Historical Sketch of Montreal ; 
you will also find the corrections made on the subject by our City Auditor. I also mail 
you to-day a couple of small pamphlets, containing all the necessary information. 

Yours truly, 

H. LEAUQRAN, Mayor. 



Mayor's Office, St. John, New Brunswick. 

T. S. BORES DE VEBER, Mayor. 

Gentlemen : Salt Lake City Corporation, Recorder s Office. 

His Honor tlu Mayor, Mr. Francis A rmstrong, has assigned me the 
duty of examining the proof-sheet of sketch of our city. The Mayor directs me 
to say he regrets the delay, and xvill forward the proof, with such corrections 
as he deems appropriate, within a day or two. 

Yours very respectfully, 

HEBER M. WELLS, Recorder. 

Mayor's Office, Wilmington, jV. C. 

Crentlemen ; — Tours oTtIke 17t]i, Tv^itb sketcb, received, and find <Iie 

contents correct. 

Very respectfully, 

K. D. HULL, NIayor. 

Dear Sirs: Taxing District, Sl»ell>y Oonnty, Xenn. 

\¥e haTe corrected a fcvr items in the proof you sent us of IVIemp«iiis 
and have returned same to you. W^e also send you some reports from 
■*Tlsicfi yon can get a more extended mollee of our city, its financial 
condition, etc. Xliese reports of tlie various departments of our city "will 
l>e con-vineing proof that Tv^e ^rould lilse to liave a true and correct 
p).si1)lication. Respectfully yours, 

»ATIfl> I». MA«I>EI^. President. 

Taxing District, Shelby County, Tenn. 

Dear Sirs :— TTie sketeh of the City of Memphis is all satisfactory. 

I am yours truly, 

DAVID P. HADDEN, President 

Dear Sirs: City of Charleston, S. C, Ejcecufive Department. 

I beg leave to enclose you herewith the corrected sketch of the City 
of Charleston, and to say that there is nothing further to suggest. The sketch 
is admirable and concise. Mayor Courtenay will he pleased to include in 
the City's Library a copy of so valuable a work as this will no doubt be, 

Yours respectfully, 

ir R. G. NEALE, for the Mayor. 



CONTENTS. 



AMKRICAN CITIKS 



ALBANY, NEW YORK, 
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, 

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, . 
BOSTON, MASS., 
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, . 
BUFFALO, NEW YORK, 

CAMBRIDGE, MASS., . 
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, 
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, . 
CINCINNATI, OHIO, . 
CLEVELAND, OHIO, . 
COLUMBUS, OHIO, . 

DAVENPORT, IOWA, . 
DENVER, COLORADO, 
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, 

EVANSVILLE, INDIANA, 

GALVESTON, TEXAS, 

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, . 
HAMILTON, ONTARIO, 
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, 
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, 

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, 



JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, 
JERSEY CITY, N. J., . 

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, 
KINGSTON, ONTARIO, 

LONDON, ONTARIO, . 
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, 
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, 
LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, . 

(lO) 



PAGB 

148 
92 

66 

51 
126 

71 

138 
82 

99 

96 

134 

132 

137 
86 

131 
152 

172 

170 
129 
118 

98 

142 

52 

130 
167 

173 

95 
124 

120 



CONTENTS. 



II 



MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, 
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, 
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, 
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, 
MOBILE, ALABAMA, . 
MONTREAL, CANADA, 

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, 
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, 
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, 
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, 
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 

OMAHA, NEBRASKA, 
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, . 

PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, 
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, 
PORTLAND, MAINE, . 
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, 

QUEBEC, CANADA, . 

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, 
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, . 

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, . 

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, 

SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, 

SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, 

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, 

ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK, 

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND, 

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, 

TOLEDO, OHIO, 
TORONTO, CANADA, . 
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, . 
TROY, NEW YORK, . 

UTICA, NEW YORK, . 

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, 
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, 
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, 
WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, . 



12 



CONTENTS. 



AMERICAN SCENERY. 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY, .... 

THE YELLOWSTONE REGION, 

THE NIAGARA FALLS— THE NEW STATE PARK, 

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS, 

DOWN THE RAPIDS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE, 

WATKINS GLEN, ..... 

THE RHINE OF AMERICA (HUDSON RIVER), 



PAGU 

179 
182 

188 
198 

206 



OUR COUNTRY'S ACHIEVEMENTS 

OUR COUNTRY COMPARED WITH THE GREAT NATIONS, 

THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS, 

THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND, 

THE INDIAN WAR, .... 

SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK, . 

THE LAND OF PENN, 

SETTLEMENT IN THE OTHER COLONIES, 

THE COLONIAL PERIOD, . 

THE GROWTH AND GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONIES, 

THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE— THE GATHERING CLOUD, 

THE BURSTING OF THE STORM, 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, 

JOHN HANCOCK, .... 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN— ISRAEL PUTNAM, 

PATRICK HENRY, THE ORATOR, 

SAMUEL ADAMS, .... 

BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL AND SIEGE OF BOSTON, 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 

THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR, . 

THE FRENCH AID TO THE COLONIES, 

THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777 AND 1778, 

THE WYOMING MASSACRE, 

THE WAR IN 1779 AND 1780, 

THE FIRST AND ONLY TRAITOR, 

THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE STRUGGLE, 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD, 

ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON, . 

ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS, . 

ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON, 

SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE, . 

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS, 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE, 



210 
216 
217 
220 
222 
223 
224 
226 
229 

238 
241 

242 

243 
244 

245 
247 
253 
254 
256 

258 
262 
264 
268 
269 
274 

277 
280 
281 
284 
285 
287 
289 



CONTENTS. 



13 



PAGE 

LAFAYETTE (SKETCH AND VISIT), 290 

ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN QUIxNCY ADAMS, . . .292 

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON, . . . .293 

ADMINISTRATION OF MARTIN VAN BUREN, . . . 295 

ADMINISTRATION OF HARRISON AND TYLER, . . .296 

ADMINISTRATION OF POLK AND MEXICAN WAR, . . .297 

THE PERIOD OF AGITATION, . . . .302 

ADMINISTRATION OF ZACHARY TAYLOR, . . . .310 

ADMINISTRATION OF MILLARD FILLMORE, . . .311 

ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE, . . . .313 

THE STRUGGLE IN KANSAS— ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES 

BUCHANAN, ........ 318 

THE CIVIL WAR— ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, . 326 

THE OPERATIONS OF 1862, . . . . . .332 

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, . . . .340 

THE MILITARY OPERATIONS OF 1863, . . . .341 

THE MILITARY OPERATIONS OF 1864, . . . .35° 

THE CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR, . . • -357 
RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS— ADMINISTRATION OF AN- 
DREW JOHNSON, . . . . . .360 

ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT, . . . .362 

THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION, . . . . .367 

ADMINISTRATION OF RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, . . . 369 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES A. GARFIELD, . . . .371 

ADMINISTRATION OF CHESTER A. ARTHUR, . . -373 

PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT SINCE THE CIVIL WAR, . 378 

JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD (POEM), . . . . - 381 

OUR POSITION AMONG THE NATIONS, . . . 382 

OUR HERO DEAD (POEM), . . . • . .39° 

THE DEATH OF PUBLIC MEN, . . . . . .391 

STATE DOCUMENTS, ...... 393-4io 

CLEVELAND AND HENDRICKS, ..... 413-414 

HISTORY OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT, . . . 415-445 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



THE CAPITAL AT WASHINGTON, 
SENATORS' RECEPTION-ROOM, . 
THE SENATE CHAMBER, . 
THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, . 
THE WHITE HOUSE, 
THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE, 
THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART, 
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM BUILDING, 
'THE WAR, STATE, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS, 
THE BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING, 
ARLINGTON HOUSE OF ROBERT E. LEE, 
THE SOLDIERS' HOME, .... 
MOUNT VERNON, ..... 
WILLARD'S HOTEL, ..... 
THE PENSION OFFICE, .... 
STATUES AND MONUMENTS, 
FISHING ON THE POTOMAC, 
BARTHOLDI STATUE, LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD 
SCENE IN NEW YORK BAY, 

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE, .... 
ELEVATED RAILROAD, NEW YORK, 
BROADWAY AND TRINITY CHURCH, NEW YORK, 
CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK, 
FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, 
GENERAL GRANT AND FAMILY, NEW YORK, 
THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, NEW YORK, 
THE GRAND CENTRAL DEPOT, NEW YORK, . 
SHIP-BUILDING, NAVY YARD, BROOKLYN, . 
INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA, 
FAC-SIMILE LETTER BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 
MAIN EXHIBITION BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA, 
MACHINERY HALL, PHILADELPHIA, . 
CARPENTER'S HALL, PHILADELPHIA, . 
PARK STREET, BOSTON, . 
THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, BOSTON, . 
THE HANCOCK HOME, BOSTON, . 
LONGFELLOW'S RESIDENCE, CAMBRIDGE, 
GORE HALL, CAMBRIDGE, . 
INTERIOR OF DRAWING-ROOM CAR, . 
LAFAYETTE SQUARE, NEW ORLEANS, 

(14^ 



PAGB 
17 
18 

19 

20 
21 

24 

25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 

33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
39 
40 
42 
43 
44 

45 
46 

47 
49 
53 
57 
58 

59 
60 
61 
66 

67 
68 
69 
70 
7« 
73 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



-5 



THE COTTON EXCHANGE, NEW ORLEANS, . 

THE MAIN EXHIBITION BUILDING, NEW ORLEANS, 

UNITED STATES AND STATE BUILDINGS, NEW ORLEANS 

NEW ORLEANS TO SAN FRANCISCO, . 

THE BALDWIN HOUSE, SAN FRANCISCO, 

THE PALMER HOUSE, CHICAGO, 

THE COURT HOUSE, ST. LOUIS, 

THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY, ST. LOUIS, 

THE NEW POST-OFFICE, ST. LOUIS, . 

THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, ST. LOUIS, 

THE SOUTHERN HOTEL, ST. LOUIS, . 

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, . 

CLEVELAND, OHIO, .... 

DRAWING-ROOM CAR, 

VIEW OF THIRD STREET, CINCINNATI, 

VIEW OF FOURTH STREET, CINCINNATI, 

VIEW OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, 

VIEW OF UNION DEPOT, PITTSBURGH, 

VIEW OF THE COURT HOUSE, PITTSBURGH 

VIEW OF ST. PAUL, MINN., 

SUBURBS OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., 

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, PROVIDENCE, R. I., 

CITY HALL AND COURT HOUSE, PORTLAND, MAINE, 

VIEW OF CITY OF ALBANY, N. Y., 

VIEW OF PARK, BUFFALO, N. Y., 

VIEW OF CITY OF DAVENPORT, lA., 

VIEW OF CITY OF OMAH.^, NEB., 

VIEW OF CITY OF COLUMBUS, O., 

VIEW OF CITY OF DENVER, COL, 

VIEW OF CITY OF CHARLESTON, S. C, 

VIEW IN AND AROUND CHARLESTON, S. C, 

A STREET IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, . 

BAY STREET, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, 

VIEW OF MOBILE, ALA., ... 

VIEW OF SAVANNAH, GA., 

VIEWS IN AND AROUND ATLANTA, GA., 

SCENES IN GALVESTON, TEXAS, 

MAIN STREET, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, 

STATE CAPITOL, RICHMOND, VA., 

PATRICK HENRY ADDRESSING THE ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA 

MAP 'SHOWING NEW YORK AND CANADIAN CITIES, 

ANCIENT GATE, QUEBEC, . 

MONTCALM'S HEADQUARTERS, QUEBEC, 

VIEW OF ST. JOHN, N. B., . 

VIEW OF KINGSTON, ONT., 

VIEW OF TORONTO UNIVERSITY, 

VIEW OF CHAUDIERE FALLS, OTTAWA, 



i6 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



VIEW OF LONDON, ONT., . 

BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, YOSEMITE, 

UPPER YELLOWSTONE FALLS, . 

NIAGARA FALLS, .... 

THE HORSE-SHOE FALL, . 

THE BRIDGE, BATH, AND GOAT ISLAND, 

TABLE ROCK, ..... 

TERRAPIN TOWER, .... 

NIAGARA FROM NEAR QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS, 

RIVER NIAGARA BELOW THE FALLS, . 

NIAGARA SUSPENSION BRIDGE, . 

NIAGARA RIVER, THE WHIRLPOOL, 

ALEXANDRIA BAY, THOUSAND ISLANDS, 

BETWEEN THE ISLANDS, . 

ON THE ISLANDS, .... 

ROUND ISLAND, .... 

BONNIE CASTLE, THOUSAND ISLANDS, 

DOWN THE RAPIDS OF ST. LAWRENCE, 

THE GORGE, WATKINS GLEN, . 

GLEN MOUNTAIN HOUSE, 

THE TRIPLE CASCADE, WATKINS GLEN, 

RAINBOW FALLS, WATKINS GLEN, 

FAC-SIMILE LETTER OF BENEDICT ARNOLD 

THE PALISADES ON THE HUDSON, 

TURK'S FACE ON THE HUDSON, 

BATTLE MONUMENT, BALTIMORE, 

INDIANS VIEWING THE FIRST RAILROAD, 

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BOSTON, 

LAFAYETTE, ..... 

SANTA ANNA, ..... 

GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT, 

THE GREAT CANNON, 

ENGINE-ROOM OF EXPOSITION, 

HON. EDWIN D. MORGAN, . 

CxROVER CLEVELAND, 

THOMAS A. HENDRICKS, . 

PORTRAITS OF LEADERS OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR, 



TO MAJOR ANDRE 



41 



PAGE 

176 

182 

184 
184 

186 
186 
187 
187 
190 
191 
192 

^93 
196 
198 
200 
204 
205 
206 
207 
208 
209 
225 
232 
252 
290 
298 
301 

325 
368 

391 

413 
414 

5-445 



OBIGIN m DEfELOPffiENT OF AIEBICAN CITIES. 



WASHINGTON D.C 




THE CAPITOL. 

ASHINGTON is the Capital of the United States ; it is in 

the Federal District of Columbia, situated on the left 

bank of the Potomac River, i6o miles from its mouth, 

between Anacostia River and Rock Creek, which 

separates it from Georgetown. It is 37 miles from 

Baltimore, 136 from Philadelphia, 120 from Richmond, 

225 from New York, 432 from Boston, 700 from Chicago, 

856 from St. Louis, 1,033 ^^om New Orleans, and 2,000 

from San Francisco. The Potomac at Washington is one mile wide, 

and deep enough for the largest vessels. 

When in October, 1800, the transfer of the Government of the 
United States was made to its present seat, the most visionary- 
dreamer could hardly have foreseen the magnificence and beauty of 
the city of Washington as it is to-day. 

The grandeur and greatness of the model Government of the 
world is fittingly represented by the stately city, which is the home 
of the central government of the most powerful repubhc the world has ever 

(17) 




i8 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

known, and its growing splendor (the evidence of the prosperity of the people) 
is but an exemplification of the saying of the great President Lincoln, that " a 
Government of the people and by the people shall not perish from the face of 
the earth." 

In points of historic interest there is not a city in the world possessing the 
attractions to the American citizen, that the Capital of the nation afTords. In 
accordance with the act of Congress (March 3, 1791) the city was laid out, under 
the direction of President Washington, on a plateau 40 feet above the river, 
with several elevations, with over 250 miles of streets and avenues. The 




SENATOR S' RECEPTION-ROOM. 



streets are from So to 120 feet wide, and the avenues 130 to 160 feet — the lat- 
ter are named after various States. General Washington called it the Federal 
City, and it was not until after his death that it received his name. The 
streets from north to south are numbered, and those from east to west are let- 
tered. Twenty-one avenues cross these in various directions ; the new Execu- 
tive Avenue winds from the White House around the city to the Capitol. The 
original plan of the city was so extensive and the increase of population so 
small, that Washington was often called " the city of magnificent distances." 

In 1839 ^^ English traveler said : " The town looks like a large straggling 
village reared in a drained swamp." In 1851 the work of laying out and adorn 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



19 



ing the reservations and parks was commenced under the skillful guidance of 
A. J. Downing, but his death, the next year, and the neglect of Congress, 
arrested it for twenty years. In 1871 a government for the District was estab- 
lished by Congress, with a governor and legislature and a board of public 
works, to which was given control of the streets, avenues, and sewers of Wash- 
ington and Georgetown, with authority to improve them under a general plan. 
A system of sewerage and of pavements was organized which resulted in regrad- 
ing most of the highways, paving 160 miles of streets with stone, wood, or 
concrete, planting about 30,000 shade trees, and improving the public squares 
with fences and trees. In three years the city was transformed. From that 
time to the present a very large number of public buildings and private resi- 
dences have been erected. The city covers about 6,000 acres, of which the 
Government reservations comprise 500, and the streets 2,500, leaving 3,000 for 




THESENATECHAMBER. 

the lots on which private residences are built. As open places are in all parts 
of the city, fresh air is abundant, and healthfulness is greatly promoted. The 
undulating surface of the city produces'a constant variety of scenery without 
obstructing the travel. Its environs present a beautiful and picturesque land- 
scape, which is seen to the best advantage from the portico or dome of the 
Capitol, and drew from Humboldt the declaration, " In all my travels I have 
not seen a more charming panorama." 



THE CAPITOL BUILDING. 

Travelers who have visited all the capitols of the world pronounce this to 
be the finest civic building extant, and certainly every American may well be 
proud of it. It stands upon Capitol Hill, fronting both east and west. It is 
751 feet long from north to south, 324 feet in width, covers an area of three 
and one-half acres of ground, and has cost upwards of $15,000,000. The cen- 
tral portion is of sandstone, painted white ; this was partially destroyed in 



20 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



1 8 14 by the British. The extensions are of Massachusetts marble, with mono- 
lith columns of Maryland marble. The dome is of iron, and weighs 40 tons. 
It is surmounted by a statue of " P'reedom," from designs made under the 
direction of JelYerson Davis, at the time he was Secretary of War. The cor- 
ner-stone of the original Capitol, now the central part of the structure, was laid 
in 1793, by George Washington, with Masonic ceremonials. The corner-stone 
of the extensions was laid in 185 1, Daniel Webster delivering the oration. 
The Capitol is always open to visitors except on legal holidays. The admis- 
sion is free, and parties endeavoring to collect an entrance fee to this or any 
other public building in Washington are impostors, and ought to be handed 
over to the police without ceremony. 

Here the objects of interest are so numerous that space can be given only 
to a brief mention of each of them. Upon a platform erected in the east cen- 
tral portico, the oath of office is administered to the President in the presence 

of the public, and 
here he delivers his 
inaugural address. 
Fronting the porti- 
co is Greenough's 
statue of Washing- 
ton. On each side 
the steps leading up 
to the portico are 
emblematical groups 
in marble ; the one 
on the south side is 
Persico's " Discov- 
ery," the one on the 
north Greenough's 
" Civilization." The 
first represents Co- 
lumbus holding a 
globe aloft, while an Indian maiden crouches by his side. In the other the 
pioneer husband and father rescues the wife and child from impending death 
at the hands of the bloodthirsty Indian. Within the portico are statues of 
" War " and " Peace " in niches. The door opening into the rotunda is the 
Rogers bronze door, so widely famous. It is well worth the closest study. It 
was cast in Munich, in 1S61, from designs by Randolph Rogers, and cost alto- 
gether about $30,000. It is nine feet wide and seventeen feet high, and 
here, in a great bronze picture, is told the story of the life of Christopher 
Columbus. 

Having studied this magnificent work of art, the visitor enters the rotunda, 
avast circular room, 97 feet in diameter, 300 feet in circumference, and 180 
feet in height to the base of the canopy which surmounts it. The lower part 
of the wall of the rotunda is occupied by eight historical pictures. Four of 




TREASURY DEPARTMENT 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



21 



these pictures, viz. : " Declaration of Independence," " The Surrender of Gen- 
eral Burgoyne," " The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis," and " The Resignation 
of General Washington," were painted by John Trumbull, son of Governor 
Trumbull, of Connecticut, and for a time an ofificer of General Washington's 
staff. The chief value these paintings have lies in the fact that every face in 
them is a portrait. These four pictures cost the Government $32,000. Besides 
these are " De Soto Discovering the Mississippi," by Wm. H. Powell, for 
which the Government paid $15,000 ; " The Landing of Columbus," by Van- 
derlyn, $12,000 ; "The Baptism of Pocahontas," by Chapman, $10,000; and 
"The Embarkation of the Pilgrims," by Weir, $10,000. There are four doors 
opening into the rotunda, and over each is an a/to relievo, viz. : over the north 
door, " Penn's Treaty with the Indians in 1682," by Gevelot ; over the south 
door, "The Conflict between Daniel Boone and the Indians in 1775," by Cau- 
sici ; over the east door, " The Landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock," 




THE WHITE HOUSE 



also by Causici ; and over the west door is the " Preservation of Captain Smith 
by Pocahontas," by Capellano. Above the architrave is a fresco in chiaro-oscura 
of sketches from American history. The work was begun by Brumidi, and at 
his death was taken up by one of the masters of his school. It will, perhaps, 
be completed by the end of the present year. In the canopy above is Brumidi's 
allegorical painting, representing " Washington Seated in Majesty." By climb- 
ing 365 steps the visitor may ascend to the top of the dome, whence a mag- 
nificent view of the city of Washington and the surrounding country may 
be had. 

The old hall of the House of Representatives is reached by passing through 
the south door of the rotunda. The finest piece of sculptured work in Wash- 
ington is the marble clock in this hall. It is by Franzoni, and represents the 
*"■ Genius of History Making up Her Records." This hall is now known as 
^* Statuary Hall," and is reserved for the reception of statues — each State being 



22 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



permitted to send statues of two of her chosen sons. Of these there are 
already here Ethan Allen, from Vermont ; John Winthrop and Samuel Adams, 
from Massachusetts ; George Clinton and Robert R. Livingston, of New York; 
Edward D. Baker, of Oregon ; William King, of Maine ; Nathaniel Greene 
and Roger Williams, of Rhode Island; and Jonathan Trumbull and Roger 
Sherman, of Connecticut. Besides these, there are a plaster cast of Houdan's 
Washington ; Vinnie Reams' Lincoln ; a bust of Kosciusko ; Ames' bust of 
Lincoln ; statues of Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton, and Thomas Jeffer- 
son ; bust of Thos. Crawford, the designer of the statue of " Freedom " and the 
Senate bronze doors ; a mosaic portrait of Lincoln, made by an Italian who 
never saw him ; portraits of Joshua Giddings, Gunning Bedford, Henry Clay, 
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, General Washington, Benjamin West, and Thomas 
Jefferson. A large safe standing in this hall is filled with papers of historical 
value placed there in 1876 ; the safe is not to be opened till 1976. 

» Proceeding 

still further 
south, through 
a corridor of 
handsome pro- 
portions, the new 
hall of the House 
of Representa- 
tives is reached. 
This is 139 feet 
long, 93 feet wide, 
and 36 feet high. 
Galleries which 
will accommo- 
date over 1,00a 
people range 
about the sides 
of the chamber, and are always open to the public when the House is in 
session. There are reserved spaces for families of the Representatives, news- 
paper correspondents, and the diplomatic corps. The ceiling is a vast sky- 
light, the opaque glass being set in panels in great iron frames, each panel 
bearing the arms of a State. On one side of the Speaker's chair is a 
portrait of Washington, by Vanderlyn ; on the other a portrait of Lafay- 
ette, by Ary Schefer, both full length ; there are also paintings by Bierstadt. 
"The Landing of Henry Hudson " and " Discovery of California," and some 
frescoes by Brumidi, also find space here. The Capitol is floored with English 
Minton tiles. The corridors are lined with rooms for the use of the various 
committees of Congress, elaborately frescoed and furnished. The staircases 
on the House side leading to the galleries are of Tennessee marble. Over the 
western staircase is Deutze's great picture, " Westward the Course of Empire 
Takes it Way"; over the eastern is Carpenter's picture, "The Proclamation 




EAST ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE, 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



23 



of Emancipation." The library of the House is located on the second floor. 
The ground floor is used for committee-rooms, the House post-office, the 
House restaurant, folding-rooms, etc., etc. Still further down are the engines 
and furnaces which supply heat and ventilation to the south end of the build- 
ing. Underneath the rotunda is the ciypt, now nearly all taken up with 
temporary rooms in which are stored the surplus books belonging to the 
Cono-ressional Library proper, and for which accommodations are lacking in 
the rooms assigned to the library above. 

Retracing his steps from the House wing, the visitor on entering the 
rotunda will gain admission to the Congressional Library through swinging 
doors on the west. Here he finds himself in the midst of a library comprising 
upwards of 450,000 volumes. They are stored in three beautiful halls, the 
main one being 91 feet long, 34 feet wide, and 38 feet high ; the two side halls 
are each 95 feet long and 30 feet wide. The general public is admitted to the 
library between the 
hours of nine and 
four every day ex- 
cept Sunday ; and 
persons are at lib- 
erty to call for any 
desired book for 
purposes of refer- 
ence, but are not 
allowed to take 
them away. Ta- 
bles and chairs are 
furnished for the 
convenience of 
readers. Members 
of Congress and 
certain officials are 
allowed to take 

books away with the understanding that they must be returned within a certain 
time. 

Leaving the library, the visitor passes through the north door to the Su- 
preme Court Room. This was formerly the Senate Chamber. Admission 
can only be had when the court is in session. It was in this room that the 
Electoral Commission sat in February, 1877. 

Thence through a broad corridor the visitor passes to the Senate Chamber, 
a room of similar arrangement to the Hall of the House of Representatives, 
It is not so large, however, being but 112 feet long by 82 wide, and it is much 
better furnished than the Hall of the House. Back of the Vice-President's 
chair, and separated from the Senate by a spacious lobby, is the famous Marble 
Room, where Senators may receive callers during sessions of the body. This 
is a well-proportioned and beautiful room, the ceiling supported by lofty Cor- 




THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, 



24 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



inthian columns of Italian marble, and the walls lined with costly mirrors. 
Adjoining it on the north is the President's room ; it is so called because it is 
used by the President whenever he has occasion to visit the Capitol to confer 
with members of Congress in person. During the last hours of a session the 
President invariably occupies this room with the members of his Cabinet to 
sign bills as they are passed by the two Houses, as in case he does not sign 
before the session closes these enactments fail of becoming laws. At the 
opposite end of the lobby is the Vice-President's room. Here Henry Wilson 
died. East of this room is the vast apartment known as the Ladies' Recep- 
tion-room, where ladies may come to call on Senators on business. Still 
further south is the post-office of the Senate, from which entrance is gained 
to the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms. Oa the north side of the Senate Cham- 
ber are the offices of the Secretary of the Senate. 

Passing out upon the portico over the eastern entrance to the Senate, the 

celebrated Crawford 
Bronze Door will be 
found worthy of at- 
tention. It illus- 
trates Revolutionary 
history, and cost in 
the neighborhood of 
$60,000. It was cast 
at Chicopee, Mass. 
Over the centre of 
the portico are a 
number of figures il- 
lustrating the " Prog- 
ress of American Civ- 
ilization and the De- 
cadence of the Indian 
Race." Returning 
to the interior, the 
visitor will find over the staircase on the west side of the Senate Chamber, 
Walker's oil painting of " The Battle of Chapultcpec," in many respects one 
of the most remarkable works of art in Washington ; over the east staircase 
hangs Powell's painting of " Perry's Victory at Put-in-Bay, Lake Erie." The 
west staircase on the Senate side is of white marble ; on the east side it is 
of Tennessee marble. The ground floor is occupied by committee-rooms, 
bath-rooms, the Senate restaurant, etc. In the basement is located the heat- 
ing and ventilating apparatus — well worth a visit. 

The central building, situated on the summit of a gentle elevation, was 
designed chiefly by B. H. Latrobe, and commenced in 1793. The extension, 
with the dome, was designed by Thomas W. Walter, The grounds consist 
of 35 acres. It was burned by the British troops in 1814, completed in 1825, 
and extended by the addition of two spacious wings in 185 1. 




THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE, 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



25 



The new Hall of Representatives was occupied in 1857, and the Senate 
Chamber in 1859. During the war of the Rebellion the work was carried on ; 
the great dome rose from day to day while the city was an intrenched camp, 
and at the close of 1863 the statue of " Freedom " was lifted to its place. 

There are many other objects of interest in the Capitol building to which a 
lack of space prevents reference. Regularly authorized guides may be found in 
the building, who are allowed to charge visitors a moderate fee for their services. 

THE BOTANICAL GARDENS. 

The visitor may pass out of the western entrance and in a very few min- 
utes' walk reach the Botanical Gardens, with its eleven conservatories, the 
largest being 300 feet long. To naturalists and lovers of rare plants and trees, 
there is much here of highest interest. 

On the east of the 
President's house is 
the massive Treasury 
building, of freestone 
and granite, 468 feet 
by 264, with Ionic 
porticoes on all four 
sides, the monolithic 
columns on the south 
front being 31^ feet 
high and 4}4 feet in 
diameter ; and on the 
west, the magnificent 
building for the 
State,\Var, and Navy 
Departments, of 
granite, in the Ro- 
man-Doric style, with 

four facades, of which those on the north and south, and on the east and west 
respectively, correspond. 

THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 

The doors of the Treasury Department are open at nine o'clock in the 
morning, and close to the general public at two in the afternoon. The White 
House is not open to visitors till ten A.M., and by the time the objects of 
interest in the Treasury Department have been seen, an entrance can be had 
to the President's house, the grounds of which adjoin those of the Treasury. 

The Department building covers the space occupied by two blocks. It is 
300 feet wide at the north and south fronts, and 582 feet long. The four 
fronts are elaborately finished in the colonnade style, with porticoes on the 
north, south, and west fronts. The east front, the first one built, is of Vir- 
ginia freestone ; the others are of the Dix Island granite. The structure cost 




THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART. 



26 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



nearly $7,000,000. It was many years in building, having been added to from: 
time to time, as the increase of business required; and yet it is not large 
enough to accommodate all the bureaus belonging to the Treasury. The 
cash-room is the most beautiful in the building, if not in all Washington. 
The walls and ceilings are entirely of foreign marbles. A permit from the 
Treasurer of the United States can readily be secured, by means of which the 
great vaults can be seen, the visitors being under charge of a Government offi- 
cial. The ofBces of the Secretary of the Treasury are well worth examining. 
They are richly and tastefully furnished, and the rooms,"facing south, are of 
noble and beautiful proportions. 

THE WHITE HOUSE. 
The Executive Mansion, standing on elevated grounds between the Treas- 
ury on the east and the War, State, and Navy Department buildings on the 

west, is two stories 
high and 170 feet 
long. It is modeled 
after the palace of 
^ the Duke of Lein- 
ster, the architect, 
James Hoban, being 
from Ireland. It is 
of sandstone, paint- 
ed white. It fronts 
north on Pennsylva- 
nia Avenue, across 
which is Lafayette 
P a r k . From the 
north front projects 
a huge portico, un- 
der which the car- 
riages of visitors are 
driven. The south front looks upon a lovely park stretching down to the 
Washington Monument. The visitor enters at the north door, and finds 
himself at once in a magnificent vestibule 40 by 50 feet in size. A sash screen, 
filled with colored and ornamented glass, separates the vestibule from the cor- 
ridor running in front of the Blue, Red, and Green parlors and the State 
dining-room. Ushers are in attendance to show to visitqrs those portions 
of the house open to the public. The East Room is 80 feet long by 40 in 
width, and is 24 feet high. The ceilings are paneled and richly frescoed, while 
the chandeliers, mirrors, furniture, and carpets are of the most magnificent 
description. This room is used on all occasions of ceremony, grand recep- 
tions, etc. The Green Room adjoins on the west, and is so called because 
it is entirely furnished and adorned in green. The Blue Room comes 
next, furnished in blue ; in turn the Red Room is entered, still proceeding 




THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



2^ 



west. This last is used more than any other, as the sitting-room for the 
President's family. The State dining-room is in the southwest corner of the 
house. It is 40 by 30 feet, and is very richly furnished. The family din- 
ing-room is also on the first floor, in the northwestern part of the house. 
The east half of the floor above is used for the transaction of public business. 
Here the clerks and secretaries are found, and here is the Cabinet Room, 
where Cabinet sessions are held, and where the President usually receives vis- 
itors on ordinary routine business. The kitchens, store-rooms, servants' quar- 
ters, etc., are in the basement. The conservatory is attached to the west end 
of the building. It is beautiful and completely appointed, and cost over 
$40,000. The Executive stables are at some distance southwest of the man- 
sion. They cost over $30,000. The White House was first occupied by John 
Adams, in 1800, the corner-stone having been laid in 1792. It was burned by 
the British in 18 14. ^ ___^_^,^ 



The cost of the pres- 
ent structure was 
something over 
$300,000. Portraits 
of the various Presi- 
dents are hung 
throughout the 
building. 

THE INTERIOR 
DEPARTMENT. 

The Department 
of the Interior has 
a grand Doric build- 
ing, commonly 
known as the Patent 
Office. A visitor 

can take one of the cars on the Metropolitan Street Railway and in five 
minutes reach the Interior Department building, within which are located 
the Patent Ofifice, the General Land Office, the Pension Office, the In- 
dian Office, the Census Office, the Educational Bureau, etc. For the 
purpose of saving time, however, he may wisely stop at Tenth Street, 
whereon is located within half a square of " F " Street the old Ford's 
Theatre in which President Lincoln was assassinated, and the house directly 
opposite where the great martyr died. The old theatre is now used as the 
Army Medical Museum, having been bought by the Government after the 
assassination. 

The Interior Department building covers two squares of ground, between 
Seventh and Ninth and "F"and "G" Streets. Its dimensions are 410 by 
275 feet. It is of the Doric style of architecture. The centre, the first part 
built, is of freestone, the rest of marble and granite, and its cost was nearly 




NATIONAL MUSEUM BUILDING. 



28 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



$3,000,000. There are thousands of patent models and other objects of inter- 
est in this building. 

THE WAR, STATE, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS. 
A short walk brings the visitor to the building occupied by the War, 
State, and Navy Departments, just west of the White House. This is one of 
the most beautiful structures in Washington. It is in the Italian renaissance 
style, and is built of Maine and Virginia granite. The architect was A. B. 
Mullett. It is 342 feet in width, and runs 567 feet from north to south. The 
interior finishing is in harmony with the exterior. Taking everything into 
consideration, it is probably finished more handsomely and expensively than 
any other public building in the country. The State Department has charge 
of the original Declaration of Independence. The War and Navy Depart- 
ments have each museums of interesting relics, etc., and superb libraries. In 
all the departmental buildings are to be seen portraits of the various Secreta- 
ries, from the earliest 
days to the present. 
It will be some years 
before this building 
is entirely finished, 
for, although it is 
now occupied, the 
west wing yet re- 
mains to be built. 

THE DISTRICT 
COURT-HOUSE, 
Where the District 
Courts hold their 
sessions, is located 
on the southern part 
of Judiciary Square, 
between Fourth and 
Fifth and " D " and " G " Streets. The new building for the accommodation 
of the Pension Bureau is now being constructed on the north side of this square. 
It was in the District Court-House that Guiteau was tried and the famous 
Star Route trial was held. 

The Post-Office Department building stands opposite to the Interior De- 
partment building, on the square bounded by " E " and " F " and Seventh 
and Eighth Streets. It is of white marble, and is of the Corinthian style of 
architecture. The Dead-Letter Office is the chief object of interest in this 
building, to which access is readily had. 

The Department of Justice, or Attorney-General's office, is situated at the 
corner of Sixteenth-and-a-half Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, north of the 
Treasury Department. The building, of brick and brown-stone, was erected 




THE WAR. STATE, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS. 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



29 



by the Freedman's Bank for its own uses, and was bought but a year or two 
ago by the Government. There is nothing here to attract the tourist. 

THE BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING 
Is located on an eminence but a short distance southwest of the Agricultural 
building. Here the printing of Government bonds, greenbacks, national 
bank notes, internal revenue stamps, etc., etc., is done. No place in Washing- 
ton is more attractive to visitors. The building is very handsome in itself, 
and with its wonderful machinery and hundreds of employes rates second to 
none in interest. 

The Washington Monument is but a short distance south of this building. 
It is undoubtedly the loftiest artificial structure in the world. 

The Census Ofifice, having finished its work, is in a few rooms over the 
Second National Bank, Seventh Street, opposite the Post-Ofifice Department. 

The Smithsonian Institution is located just east of the Agricultural Bureau. 
It is of a red stone, and with its towers and gables of the twelfth century, 
Norman style of ar- 
chitecture, makes a 
very pleasing im- 
pression. An im- 
mense volume would 
be required to cata- 
logue the curiosities 
to be found here. 
Adjoining it on the 
east is the still more 
interesting National 
Museum building, 
which is also crowded 
with curios from all 
parts of the world. 
It was in this build- ^ 
ino-, then incomplete, '^^^ BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING. 

that the Garfield Inaugural Ball was held in 1881. 



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THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING-OFFICE. 

This is said to be the largest and best equipped printing-office in the world. 
It is situated at the corner of '' H " and North Capitol Streets, and covers 
more than two-thirds of a square of ground. It is in a building 300 feet by 175, 
has a complete equipment, and manufactures about 1,000,000 volumes annually. 

The Navy Yard covers about 27 acres, and though not much used for the 
construction of vessels, is of great importance in manufacturing and storing 
supplies. Besides the public buildings already erected, others in different 
parts of the city are rented for the Department of Justice, Pension Office, 
Commissary Bureau, and other branches of service. 



30 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 

The Columbia Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, at Kendall Green, accom- 
modates 100 pupils in beautiful buildings, surrounded with lOO acres; the Hos- 
pital for the Insane has a commodious building in the midst of 400 acres, and 
shelters 600 patients ; Providence Hospital has 200 inmates ; the Louise Home 
is a beautiful building, on the finest avenue of the city, erected and endowed 
by Mr. Corcoran as a memorial of his daughter and a home for gentle- 
women who have become poor. The Columbia Woman's Hospital, the 

Washington Orphan 
Asylum, Soldiers' 
and Sailors' Orph- 
ans' Home, St. 
Joseph's and St. Vin- 
cent's Orphan Asy- 
lums, St. John's Hos- 
pital for Children, 
the Freedmen's Hos- 
pital, and the Home 
for the Aged, under 
the care of " The 
Little Sisters of the 
Poor," are among 
the charitable insti- 
tutions with which 
the city abounds. 
Among its institu- 
tions of learning are Columbian University, Gonzaga College, under Jesuit 
instruction, and Howard University, for colored youth, under Congregational 
and Presbyterian supervision. 

THE ARMY MEDICAL MUSEUM 

Contains 10,000 MS. volumes of hospital reports and a large assemblage of 
specimens representing the effects of wounds, diseases, and surgical operations. 
The microscopic section is admirable ; and the models of barracks, hospitals, 
ambulances, and surgical instruments, are not equaled in any similar collec- 
tion. The medical library contains about 40,000 volumes. 

The great interests centering in the legislation for over 55,000,000 of 
people, bring to the city multitudes of people of every class and for various 
objects ; and its pleasant winter climate makes it attractive to persons of wealth 
and leisure from all parts of the country, and to visitors from other lands. 
The fashionable season begins with the meeting of Congress in December. 
From Christmas to Lent, receptions, balls, and dinners abound ; the levees of 
the President, members of the Cabinet, and Speaker of the House, are open 
to all comers ; the President receives the calls of the public, and on Jan. ist 




ARLINGTON, HOME OF ROBERT E. LEE. 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



31 



his reception is attended by foreign ministers in official costume, officers of 
the Army and Navy in uniform, officers of the Government, members of Con- 
gress, and citizens generally. 

The Pension Office is at present located in the Shepherd Building, at 
the corner of Twelfth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. 

In the long summer evenings it is the almost universal custom in Washing, 
ton to drive out after dinner to the Soldiers' Home, where there are twenty 
miles of the finest roadways in the world, in the noble public park belonging 
to this institution, and is well deserving a visit. In the winter the bright, 
bracing afternoons offer the most favorable opportunities for this purpose. 

The Soldiers' Home, a national institution for invalid soldiers, was estab- 
lished in 185 1. It 
has since been 
■ greatly enlarged, and 
is maintained with a 
fund accumulated 
by retaining 12^ 
cents a month from 
the pay of each pri- 
vate soldier. The 
buildings are hand- 
some, and the 
grounds adorned 
with meadows, 
groves, and lakes. 
The Naval Hospital 
supplies a similar 
home for sick and 
disabled seamen of 

the Navy. The buildings of the Home are for the most part of Ohio or other 
white sandstone, and while they are picturesque, afford most comfortable homes 
for the old veterans. The President usually occupies one of these cottages for 
his summer residence. 

THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Occupies a building of brick and brown-stone, in the renaissance style, 170 
feet by 61, with green-houses, graperies, and experimental grounds, around it, 
covering 10 acres. The business of the Department is the distribution over 
the country of seeds, plants, and general agricultural information. 

THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY. 

The United States Naval Observatory is on the Potomac, between Wash- 
ington and Georgetown. The grounds attached to it are 19 acres in extent. 
From the flagstaff on the dome of the principal building a signal-ball is dropped 
daily at noon, transmitting by telegraphic connections the mean time to all 




THE soldiers' HOME, 



32 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



parts of the United States. Another edifice has been specially adapted to the 

reception and employment of the great equatorial telescope made by Alvan 

Clark, and mounted in 1873. It has an object-glass of 26 inches, and cost 

nearly $50,000. 

MOUNT VERNON. 

The Tomb of George Washington is at Mount Vernon, Washington's old 
home, seventeen miles down the beautiful Potomac. Every day except Sun- 
day a steamer runs to Mount Vernon for the accommodation of tourists, leav- 
ing the city at nine A.M. and returning at four P.M. 

The city has 120 churches. Some of the public halls are Lincoln, Odd Fel- 
lows', Willard's, Tallmadge, and the Masonic Temple ; and of the hotels, Wil- 
lard's, the Arlington, Ebbitt House, Riggs House, National, and Metropolitan 
are widely known. Boarding-houses greatly abound. The number of Govern- 
ment officers and 
clerks is about 7,000. 
During the Rebel- 
lion Washington 
was the centre of 
vast military opera- 
tions. The military 
works were service- 
able for the safety 
of the city after the 
disasters of 1862, 
and when Early 
marched on the city. 
Throughout the war 
Washington was a 
vast d^pot for mili- 
tary supplies ; long 
trains of army wag- 
ons were almost constantly passing through its streets ; immense hospitals for 
the sick and wounded were erected, and many churches, public institutions, 
and the Capitol itself, were at times given up to this service. 

WILLARD'S HOTEL. 

While there are a great many noble buildings and historic spots in Wash- 
ington which have the highest interest to the visitor, Willard's Hotel stands 
second to none of them, historically considered. 

It was in the very early days of the Republic, and very soon after the 
National Government had become fixed in its new quarters on the Potomac, 
that the first humble beginning of what is now a magnificent and luxurious 
structure, was made on a spot directly adjoining the present site of the house. 

The enterprise of that early day located with wonderful accuracy the point 
that would be most convenient and most desirable for a hotel. Willard's 








MOUNT VERNON. 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



33 



was known seventy-five years ago as the "City" Hotel, subsequently it was 
called " Williamson's," and later on it took the name of " Fuller's," which it 
kept until a few years before the Civil War, when, passing into the hands of 
the Willards, it was given its present name. 

From a time whereof the memory of even the oldest inhabitant of the city 
runneth not to the contrary, our Presidents have gone from the suites of 
rooms on the second floor at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Four- 
teenth Street, escorted with all the pomp and pageantry which have grown 
up around the ceremony, to the east front of the noble Capitol building, there 
to assume the oath of their high office in the presence of waiting thousands, 
and to deliver their inaugural addresses which marked out the policy to be 
pursued by the new administration. 

Of the vast ar- 
mies which ebbed 
and flowed through 
Washington during 
the late war, there 
are thousands of old 
soldiers who will re- 
call with delight the 
hours spent within 
the hospitable doors 
of WiUard's. The 
old statesmen who 
served their country 
in the halls of Con- 
gress or the Cabi- 
nets of the Presi- 
dents will recall, at the sound of the name, the grave and patriotic consulta- 
tions held within the walls of the famous old house — consultations which had 
for their object the happiness of millions of people, the welfare of the great 
Republic. 

THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART. 
This bulding, with a large number of paintings and an endowment fund of 
$900,000, was given to the United States by Mr. W. W. Corcoran, a retired 
banker of great wealth resident here. Handsome additions of works of art are 
made to the gallery every year, and it is well worth a visit. 




WILLARD S HOTEL, 



LAFAYETTE SQUARE. 
Leaving the art gallery and passing east this lovely park is reached by a 
walk of half a square. In the centre is Clark Mills' celebrated equestrian 
statue of General Jackson. The public parks are kept in admirable order by 
appropriations made by Congress, and expended under the direction of an officer 
of the Army Engineers detailed to the charge of public buildings and grounds. 



34 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



There is an aristocracy among the colored people of Washington as 
well as among the white, and it is quite as exclusive. The caste is very 
strictly marked, and it is as difficult for a camel to go through the eye of 
a needle as for a member of the class denoted as " trash " to gain admis- 
sion to the circle of the "quality." The focus or pole around which the 
high-toned colored society revolves is the Fifteenth Presbyterian church, 

which stands in an aristocratic section of the city — McPherson Square 

beside the residence of Associate Justice Blatchford, of the Supreme Court, 
and within a stone's throw of the palace Senator Palmer, of Michigan, has just 
completed. In the immediate neighborhood are the residences of Chief-Jus- 
tice VVaite ; John VV. Thompson, the richest banker of Washington ; William 
E. Chandler, cx-Secrctary McCulloch, and the historic house which Con- 
gressman Hitt, of Illinois, purchased a few years ago, is just across the square. 

The leading men 
in this church are 
ex - Senator Bruce ; 
Dr. Purvis ; John M. 
Langston, late Min- 
ister to Hayti, who 
has recently been 
elected president of 
a colored college in 
Virginia ; Professor 
Greener ; the Worm- 
leys, who are pro- 
prietors of the most 
aristocratic hotel 
here ; George Cook, 
the Superintendent 
of Colored Schools ; John F. Cook, the Collector of Taxes of the District, and 
others of the crhne dc la crane. The pastor of this church is the Rev. Mr. 
Grinke, a young man about thirty-five, who was graduated at Lincoln Univer- 
sity with the valedictory of his class, and studied theology at Princeton. 
Frederick Douglass does not worship here, but lives in a suburban village 
called Uniontown, and belongs to the Baptist denomination. Since he mar- 
ried a white woman he has not been received as cordially as before in the 
aristocratic circles of his race, who thought he might have found a spouse 
of his own color in better taste. Congressman O'Hara, of South Carolina, is 
a member of the coterie, but, singularly enough, he and his wife are Catholics, 
and attend St. Augustine's church. 

Mrs. O'Hara is one of the loveliest ladies in Washington, and were it not 
for the slight trace of negro blood in her veins, she would be a leader in white 
society. Like Mrs. Bruce, who is also beautiful, she is a highly educated and 
accomplished woman, speaks French, plays Beethoven, paints plaques, and is 
up in art and literature to a degree that would make some of her white sis- 




THE PENSION OFFICE, 



CITY OF WASHINGTON. 



35 



ters blush for envy. Both Mrs. Bruce and Mrs. O'Hara are very nearly white, 
and it would be difficult for a stranger to detect their relation to the African 
Tace. Mrs. O'Hara has a white governess for her children, and intends that 
they shall be as accomplished as herself. 

These people have their own society, give balls, dinner parties, receptions, 
•and other entertainments, and pay formal visits on regular reception days, just 
like the ladies of official 
life. I have before me the 
■engraved visiting card of 
•a colored belle. 

At a " high tea," or a 
ball given by this circle of 
the' colored aristocracy, one 
can find quite as much in- 
telligence, quite as much 
beauty, and quite as much 
^race of manner as will be 
gathered at any of the swell 
receptions of white folks. 
There are Cleopatras and 
Hebes who come in car- 
riages, and when they throw 
■off their opera cloaks dis- 
close attractions which 
Would make many a white 
belle envious. Both gen- 
tlemen and ladies appear 
in full evening-dress, and 
the costumes of the ladies 
are duly described in the 
-Sunday Bee, the organ of 
the high-toned colored 
residents of the District. 
■Now and then there is a 
scandal, but I think the 
average of morality is quite 
as high among the colored 
people as among the whites. 




STATUES AND MONUMENTS. 



STATUES AND MONUMENTS. 
There are a great many statues of distinguished soldiers and statesmen 
scattered over the city, located in the various parks and squares. Of these 
may be enumerated the Thomas equestrian statue, in Thomas circle, at the 
junction of Fourteenth Street and Vermont Avenue ; Scott's equestrian statue 
in Scott circle, at the junction of Sixteenth Street and Massachusetts Avenue; 



36 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

McPherson's equestrian statue in McPherson Square, Fifteenth and " K " 
Streets ; Farragut's statue in Farragut Square, Seventeenth and " K" Streets; 
Jackson's equestrian statue, fronting the White House ; Rawlins' equestrian 
statue, New York Avenue, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets ; 
equestrian statue of Washington in Georgetown circle, Pennsylvania Avenue 
and Twenty-third Street ; these are all in the northwestern part of the city ; 
east of the Capitol, in Stanton Square, at the intersection of Maryland and 
Massachusetts Avenues, is the equestrian statue of General Nathaniel Greene, 
of Revolutionary fame ; and in Lincoln Square, due east of the Capitol a half 
a mile or more, is the bronze group, called " Emancipation," representing Presi- 
dent Lincoln striking the manacles of the slave. The National monument 
to Washington was commenced in 1848, and after long delay is now com- 
pleted as a lofty and plain obelisk, 70 feet square at the base and 600 feet high. 
The population in 1880 was 147,293, and in 1886 205,459. The yearly 
city expenditures average $3,500,000, the cost per capita being $17.38. The 
natural situation of the city is pleasant and salubrious. It is one of the hand- 
somest and most commodious cities in the world. Its great prosperity is due 
to the presence of the National Government. It has considerable retail trade, 
but the manufacturing or other business is unimportant. 




FISHING ON THE POTOMAC. 



NEW YORK CITY. 




EW YORK, one of the greatest cities of modern times, 
is the most important city and seaport in the United 
States, and the third in the civiHzed world. If to the 
population of New 
York in 1886 we 
.?i^^^ add that of Brook- 
' ' lyn, Jersey City, 
and other neighboring com- 
munities, which are practi- 
cally the suburbs of New 
York, we find within a ra- 
dius of twenty-five miles 
from the City Hall a com- 
pact population of nearly 
3,000,000, which is the real 
population of the great 
city. Its wonderful in- 
crease can be attributed in great part to 

its admirable situation. The water in 

the outer and inner bay and in the river 

is so deep that great ships lie close to the 

piers. The navigation of the harbor is 

seldom impeded by ice, even when the 

Chesapeake and others are frozen up. 

The canal system connects it not only 

"with Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, but 

also with the Ohio River, which gives 

it an outlet to the Mississippi and the 

Gulf of Mexico. Soon after the open- 
ing of the Erie Canal in 1825, New York, 

which was at that time smaller than 

Philadelphia, began to make tremendous 

strides, and soon was far in advance of, 

all other American cities. Its facilities 

for cheap communication with the Great 

West give it great advantage over Bos- 
ton and other Eastern coast cities, and 

for this reason they can never rival it. W'S 

Philadelphia and Baltimore are nearer 

the West, but are at a considerable dis- BARTHOLDI STATUE — "LIBERTY 

tance from the ocean, and when their ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD." 




38 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

vessels arrive at the open sea they are left behind in the race to Europe, as they 
have a much further distance to go than vessels leaving New York, which is a 
great loss and disadvantage for steamers, not only in time and expense, but in 
earning capacity, as every extra ton of coal carried to complete the voyage 
means one ton of freight less, as it reduces the carrying capacity for freight to 
just that extent. It is true the coal consumed in the voyage can be purchased 
cheaper in Baltimore and Philadelphia, New York's imports are annually about 
$320,000,000; domestic exports about $300,000,000; foreign exports about 
$13,000,000. The exports would probably be far in excess of the imports were 
it not for the fact that a great many goods from the West and South are 
exported by way of New Orleans, while most of the valuable articles brought 
from abroad that are consumed in the same Stafes come in by way of New 
York. During the last year the exports of wheat from the port of New York 
were 16,000,000 bushels, of the value of $15,000,000, as against 27,000,000. 
bushels of wheat at $26,000,000 for the year 1884. Indian corn was shipped 
more largely in 1885 than in any year since 1880. The shipments of oata 
have largely increased. The quantity of flour shipped has been about the 
same as in 1884, but the price has been lower. There has been a slight gain 
in the shipments of live cattle. 

New York is situated on the east side of the mouth of the Hudson River,, 
at its junction with the East River, which opens into Long Island Sound, in 
the State of New York, 18 miles from the ocean, and separated from the main- 
land by a narrow strait, called the Harlem River, on the east, and on the west 
by Spuyten Duyvil Creek. This forms the island of Manhattan. The city 
also includes several smaller islands, containing the fortifications in the harbor 
and the public institutions in the East River, and since 1874 a considerable 
portion of the mainland north of Manhattan Island. Its present boundaries, 
are Yonkers on the north, the Bronx River and the East River on the east> 
the bay on the south, and on the west the North or Hudson River. The 
city now extends 16 miles north from the Battery, and its middle part is 4}4 
miles wide, and its total area is 41^ square miles. 

September 9, 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman in the employ of the 
Dutch East India Company, sailed his little vessel into New York Bay, 
and commenced his voyage up the river to which his name is attached, 
■which he explored to a point above Hudson. All the land which he dis- 
covered was claimed by the Dutch, and named New Netherland, and in 
161 1 the States-General offered special privileges to any .company open- 
ing and encouraging trade with the natives of their newly-acquired pos- 
sessions. This encouragement procured not only trading, but colonization^ 
In 161 3 a fort was built on Manhattan Island, but the settlement about 
it was broken up by the English. In the following year another Dutch 
colony established itself on the same spot, and continued in possession. 
In 162 1 the prospects of a lucrative commerce with America had induced 
certain merchants in Holland to combine in the organization of the Dutch 
West India Company, for colonization purposes, and two years later this 



NEW YORK CITY. 



39 



company took out eighteen families, who settled at Fort Orange (Albany), 
and thirty families, who made a settlement on Manhattan Island, which they 
bought for $24, and founded New Amsterdam, now New York. This was 
accomplished by Peter Minnits, the Director-General, who, representing the 
Dutch West India Company, came here to take charge of their colonies. He 
was an able Governor. 

The English opposition to the Dutch colonization schemes was persistent 
from the beginning, and fruitful of much conflict. The English claimed the 
territory north of Virginia on the ground of the anterior discoveries by Cabot ; 
and in 1664 a charter was granted by Charles II. to the Duke of York, which 
covered all the lands lying between the Hudson and the Delaware, and in- 
cluded New Netherland, as well as lands already held by prior grant, by 




SCENE IN NEW YORK BAY. 



Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In the summer of the year 
in which this charter was given, Colonel NicoUs was sent from England with 
sufficient force, and on arriving at New Amsterdam demanded the surrender 
of the Dutch possessions. The demand was acceded to by Governor Stuy- 
vesant, who was powerless to prevent its enforcement, and the country in 
question passed into the hands of the English without a struggle. The name 
New York was now given both to the settlement on Manhattan Island and to 
the entire province, and that of Albany to Fort Orange. A subsequent 
recapture by the Dutch was followed by a speedy restoration to the English ; 
and on the Duke of York ascending the throne of England under the title of 
James II., the province passed into the possession of the Crown. 

In i6g6 the first Trinity Church was built. A slave market was estab- 
lished in 171 1. The New York Gazette was established in 1725 ; this was the 




NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN BRIDGE. 



NEW YORK CITY. 41 

first newspaper published in the city. About 1730 a line of stages was estab. 
lished between New York and Boston ; they occupied two weeks in making 
the trip. In 1750 the first theatre in the city was opened. In 1755 the Stamp 
Act created great excitement ; the Colonial Congress assembled in the city, 
and the Stamp Act was publicly burned. In 1765 the Sons of Liberty were 
organized. The statue of George III. was destroyed in 1770, and the duty on 
tea was resisted in the same year. In 1774 a ship laden with tea was returned 
to England after eighteen chests were destroyed. In 1776 the city was 
occupied by an American force, but the battles of Long Island and others 
in the immediate vicinity being disastrous to our arms, Washington and his 
army abandoned it, and the British took possession of the city and held it for 
seven years, from August 26, 1776, to November 23, 1783. The building of 
the present City Hall was commenced in 1803, and finished in 1812. Robert 
Fulton made his first steamboat voyage to Albany in 1807, and in 1812 began 
running the ferries from New York to Brooklyn by steam. In the same year 
gas was introduced, but did not come into general use until 1825. 

The Erie Canal was begun in 1817 and finished in 1825. The effect of this 
great work was to enrich the State, while opening the way for the stream of 
commerce which has resulted in making the city of New York the metropolis 
of the Western Continent. 

In 1826 the Hudson & Mohawk Railroad was chartered — probably 
the first railroad charter granted in the country. This road was com- 
menced in 1830, and the New York & Erie in 1836. The gradual absorp- 
tion of the various New York lines which form the Hudson River Railroad, 
and the consolidation of the New York Central and Hudson River 
Railroads into one powerful four-track trunk line connecting the metropolis 
with the West, were significant events in the development of the city 
and State. 

In 1832 an epidemic of cholera caused the death of nearly 4,000 persons, 
and in 1834 about 1,000. The east side of the city below Wall Street was 
destroyed by fire in 1835, the entire loss being $18,000,000. In 1837 a financial 
panic brought failures and general loss to the entire country. The Astor 
Place riots in 1849, ^"^ the cholera epidemic of that year, which carried off 
5,071 persons, were important events. The first city railroad was built in 
1852, and on July 14, 1853, the Crystal Palace Industrial Exhibition was 
opened, the President of the United States ofificiating. A second financial 
panic occurred in 1857. From i860 to 1865 the city was engaged in patriotic 
and generous service in behalf of the Union, threatened by the secession of the 
Southern States. In the fall of 1873 occurred the great financial panic which 
began with the failure of Jay Cooke & Co. During several years at this 
period took place the investigation into the acts of the so-called " Tweed 
Ring," by which the city had been plundered of many millions of dollars. 
The arrest, trial, and punishment of most of the offenders, and the death of 
Tweed himself in prison, was a lesson that seems to have been forgotten by 
the aldermen that granted the Broadway Railroad franchise in 1884, which is 




QRAND CENTRAL DEPOT SHOWING ELEVATED RAILROAD. N Y. 



NEW YORK CITY. 



43 







now being investigated by the Senate Committee. In 1883-4 there was great 
depression in business, which at one time almost amounted to a panic. The 
election in the fall of 1884 which placed Grover Cleveland in the Presidency- 
created great excitement in the city, and caused general depression in trade, 
which, after the inauguration, speedily revived. 

New York is connected with Brooklyn by the Brooklyn Bridge, also by 
numerous steam ferries ; there are also many large steam ferry-boats running 
to Jersey City and other places. Manhattan Island is 131^ miles long and 
one and three-fifths wide. There are eighty-five piers or wharves on the 
Hudson River, and 
seventy -five on the 
East River. At the 
piers on both sides of 
each river is accom- 
modated the great sail- 
ing commerce of the 
city. A ridge runs 
through the centre of 
the city like a back- 
bone ; it rises at Wash- 
ington Heights to 238 
feet. Avenues lOO feet 
wide and 8 or 10 miles 
long, mostly in straight 
lines, are crossed at 
right angles by streets 
from 50 to 100 feet 
wide, extending from 
river to river. There 
are five avenues desig- 
nated respectively A, | \^,, 
B, C, D, and E. The fe4 
numbered cross-streets 
are designated east and 
west from Fifth Ave- 
nue. There are also 13 numbered avenues, nearly 200 numbered streets, and 
about 400 named streets, avenues, etc. 

New York is built of brick, brown sandstone, and white marble. Among 
its finest edifices are the City Hall, Custom-House, County Court-House, 
Post-Office, Trinity Church, Grace Church, two universities, cathedral. Acad- 
emy of Music, Metropolitan Opera House, Casino, Cooper Institute, the 
numerous great hotels, and many other fine public and private structures. 
Besides, there are thirty-five Roman Catholic schools, and colleges and 
academies of the religious orders. The hospitals and institutions of charity 
are on a liberal scale; and besides legal outdoor relief, the poor are visited 





!I«u^)Ua:&%^u« vukA%j4a» ' 



BROADWAY AND TRINITY CHURCH. 




O 



NEW YORK CITY. 



45 



and cared for by a public society, with agents in every district. Among 
the charities are asylums for insane, blind, deaf and dumb, magdalens, 
foundlings, etc. The Astor Free Library, founded by John Jacob Astor, 
has 150,000 carefully selected volumes; the Mercantile Library, 150,000 
volumes, with a large reading-room ; Society Library, 64,000 ; Apprentices' 
Library, 50,000, with rich museums of antiquities ; the Cooper Institute, a 
present to the city by Peter Cooper, has a free reading-room, picture-gallery, 
art-schools, etc. Annual art exhibitions are given by the National Academy 
of Design, Dusseldorf, and International Galleries. The Academy of Music 
or opera-house has seats for 4,700 persons. 

Among the clubs are the Army and Navy, Knickerbocker, Lotos, Man- 
hattan, Century, Down-Town, Harmonic, Merchants', New York, Press, Rac- 
quet, St. Nicholas, Union League, Union, and University. 




FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL. 



Central Park is laid out in the finest style of landscape gardening, and is 
two and one-half miles long by three-fifths of a mile wide. It was begun in 
1858, and includes between Fifty-ninth and iioth Streets and between Fifth 
and Eighth Avenues, and contains 840 acres, in which are two large lakes. It 
is inferior in some respects to older parks, especially in its trees as compared 
with old park forests. Its lawns are necessarily limited in space, yet in pro- 
portion to the space which it covers it has developed many beauties and much 
interest for the public. The plans for its laying out were submitted and 
executed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. Four thousand 
men were engaged on the work in 1858. The ground was a region of hills 
and swampy hollows, containing a few old farms and mansions. Within five 
years the transformation was astonishing. The reservoirs within it occupy 
142 acres. In addition to this water there are six artificial lakes, containing 
42 acres; the lawns cover nearly no acres. It contains nearly 10 miles of 



NEW YORK CITY. 



47 



carriage roads, 28 miles of walks, and nearly 6 miles devoted to equestrians ; 
there are in all 46 bridges. The visitors to the park often number 100,000 
a day. 

Riverside Park, which is now famous as General Grant's last resting-place, 
is situated above Central Park, on the east bank of the Hudson River. It is a 
long, narrow strip of land, and is visited by thousands from all parts of the 
country. The tomb can be seen by travelers on the Hudson River boats, as 
the site commands a fine view of the river. The accompanying picture of 
General Grant and his family is engraved from a photograph taken at Mount 
McGregor a short time before his death. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 for the purpose of 
encouraging the study of 
the fine arts, and the ap- 
plication of the principles 
of art to manufactures and 
to practical life, and for 
the purpose of furnishing 
popular instruction. The 
building was erected at a 
cost of $500,000, and open- 
ed March 30, 1880, by the 
President of the United 
States. It is located in 
Central Park at Fifth Ave- 
nue and Eighty-second 
Street. It is 218 feet long 
and 95 broad, and contains 
numerous articles of great 
beauty and interest. It is 
open free of charge to the 
public on Wednesdays, 
Thursdays, Fridays, and 
Saturdays ; 50 cents is 
charged for admission on Mondays and Tuesdays. About twenty other 
smaller public parks are to be found in the city. The Museum of Natural 
History is located in Central Park at Eighty-first Street and Eighth Avenue; 
admission free. The city contains numerous art galleries, over 300 public 
schools, and about 400 churches. The Bartholdi statue is on Bedloe's Island, 
a short distance from the Battery, which is at the foot of Broadway. 

The Stock Exchange is a fine white marble building, located in Broad 
Street, having asi extension to Wall Street and running back to New Street. 
Seats in the Exchange are now worth $32,000. None but members are 
allowed on the floor. Ten thousand dollars is paid to the heirs of every 
deceased member from the Gratuity Fund established by the Exchange. 

The government of the city is vested in the " Mayor, Aldermen, and com- 




THE CUSTOM HOUSE. 



48 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

monalty of the city of New York." The legislative power is vested in a 
board of twenty-four aldermen. The executive power is vested in the Mayor 
and heads of departments appointed by the Mayor, and confirmed by the 
Board of Aldermen, for a term of six years (except in special cases). The 
salary of the Mayor is $12,000, and that of each Alderman $4,000 per annum. 
The Finance Department is under the direction of the Comptroller, who 
receives a salary of $10,000 per annum. The City Chamberlain receives a 
salary of $30,000, out of which he pays all the expenses of his office. 

Among the important buildings deserving notice is St. Patrick's (Roman 
Catholic) Cathedral, occupying the block on Fifth Avenue, between Fiftieth 
and Fifty-first Streets. The corner-stone was laid on August 15, 1858, and it 
was dedicated by Cardinal McCloskey, May 25, 1879. The architecture is of 
the thirteenth century style, the ground plan being in the form of a Latin 
cross. The dimensions are: Interior length, 306 feet; breadth of nave and 
choir, 96 feet, with the chapels, 120 feet ; length of transept, 140 feet ; height, 
108 feet. The Fifth Avenue front comprises a central gable 156 feet in 
height, with towers and spires, each 330 feet high. The building is of white 
marble, v/ith a base-course of granite. The total cost was about $2,500,000. 
The building of the Young Men's Christian Association, Fourth Avenue and 
Twenty-third Street, was erected in 1869, and cost $500,000. It is French 
renaissance in style, five stories high, 175 feet front and 86 feet depth. 

Castle Garden is now used as a depot for emigrants, for which purpose it 
has been employed since 1855. It is situated in the Battery Park, at the 
extreme southern end of Manhattan Island, convenient for foreign steamers 
and shipping. The business of receiving, caring for, and shipping to their 
destination the many thousands of immigrants is in charge of seven Commis- 
sioners of Emigration. During the year ending December 31, 1880, 372,880 
persons arrived at this port, of whom 320,607 passed through Castle Garden. 
Their destinations were — Eastern States, 63,368; Western States, 112,119; 
Southern States, 6,497; New York State, 137,561 ; Canada, 1,627. 

New York has thirteen beautiful cemeteries. The Health Department is 
under the direction of a Board of Health, which has charge of all sanitary 
matters except the cleaning of streets. The expense of the Fire Department, 
which is very efficient, is about $1,500,000 annually. The Building Depart- 
ment supervises the erection of new buildings and additions to old structures 
within the city limits. 

New York has a great network of city (horse) railroads. The elevated 
railroads are all in the hands of one company. The Police Department is 
governed by a Board of four Commissioners, who receive $6,000 a year each, 
excepting the President of the Board, who is selected by themselves from 
themselves, who receives $8,COO. Patrolmen receive $1,000 a year; rounds- 
men, $1,200; sergeants, $1,500, and captains, $2,000. The city has a large 
number of public markets under the general direction of a superintendent. 
Besides the General Post-Office, there are IQ sub-stations and over 1,000 lamp- 
post boxes, from which collections are made seven times daily (Sundays 



NEW YORK CITY. 



49 



excepted). Each police court has connected with it a prison, viz. : The 
Tombs, or City Prison, in Centre Street ; Essex Market, in Essex Street ; 
Jefferson Market, Sixth Avenue and West Tenth Street; Yorkville, Fifty- 
seventh Street; Harlem, I2$th Street. Ludlow Street Jail is used for pris- 
oners from the Federal and State Courts. 

The Croton Aqueduct brings a river of pure soft water from 40 miles 
distance, which is received in reservoirs of a capacity of 1,500,000,000 gallons, 
and distributed with such a head as to supply public fountains of 60 and 80 
feet jet, and the upper stories of most buildings. 

New York is the great centre of American finance and commerce. It re- 
ceives 66 per cent, of all imports, and sends out 50 per cent, of all exports. 
The New York & Harlem, the New York, New Haven & Hartford, and the New 
York Central & 




minate at the 
Grand Central ^ 
Depot at Forty- ^ 
second Street, ^ 
while many E^ 
railroads termi- 
nate at Jersey 
City, the pas- 
sengers being 
carried across 
the Hudson 
River on the 
companies' 
large and com- 
modious ferry- 
boats. It is 
understood the 




THE GRAND CENTRAL DEPOT. 



Baltimore & Ohio Railroad have completed arrangements to make Staten 
Island the terminus of their great system, and to connect with New York by 
ferry-boats. The Long Island Railroad terminates at Hunter's Point, L. I., 
and connects with the city by ferry. The finest passenger steamboats in the 
world pass up the Hudson, Long Island Sound, and down the Narrows, 
through the Lower Bay. .% 

The evening schools supply instruction to about 20,000 children and others 
who are obliged to work during the day. The College of the City of New 
York was established in 1847, ^"d until 1866 was known as the New York 
Free Academy. It is open only to pupils from the public schools who have 
been in attendance at least one year. The college confers the degrees of 
B.A., M.A., B.S., and M.S. The buildings are on Lexington Avenue and 
Twenty-third Street, and valued at $150,000; they contain a library, natural 



50 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

history cabinet, and scientific apparatus, the whole valued at $75,000. The 
annual cost of maintaining the college is about $150,000. The Normal College 
for Women is on Sixty-ninth Street, between Lexington and Fourth Avenues. 
The building is 300 feet long and 125 feet wide, fronting on Fourth Avenue; 
its cost was $350,000. There is also a model or training school for practice. 
Its object is to prepare teachers for the common schools. The cost of main- 
taining this institution is about $100,000 per annum. Other institutions of 
learning are Columbia College, the University of the City of New York, and 
the medical, law, and theological schools and seminaries. Columbia College, 
originally King's College, was chartered in 1754. The Corporation of Trinity 
Church erected the first college building on the church lands between College 
Place and the Hudson River. About 1850 the old buildings were surren- 
dered, and the college removed to its present site on Madison and Fourth 
Avenues, Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Streets. The departments are the Aca- 
demic, the School of Mines, and the Law School. The University of the 
City of New York is comprised in the university building on Washington 
Square, and the Medical College building on East Twenty-sixth Street, oppo- 
site Bellevue Hospital. The university was chartered in 1830, and is non- 
denominational. Instruction in the departments of the arts and sciences is 
given free of charge. 

The regular medical schools or colleges are Bellevue Hospital Medical 
College, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the University Medical 
College, the second of these being the Medical Department of Columbia 
College. Bellevue Hospital Medical College is located within the hospital 
grounds, at the foot of East Twenty-sixth Street. It was founded in 1801, 
and is under the control of the Commissioners of Public Charities and Cor- 
rections. Applicants for admission must be eighteen years of age. The course 
of study is three years. The fees in all amount to $185. The college ranks 
high, and has about 500 students. 

The Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary is situated in what is 
known as Chelsea Square, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues and Twentieth 
and Twenty-first Streets. It was founded in 181^ and chartered in 1822. The 
course of study lasts three years. The Union Theological Seminary is on 
University Place, between Waverley and Clinton Places. It was founded in 
1836. The seminary course occupies three years, and the library has 35,000 
volumes. 

In 1700 there were only 800 dwelling-houses on Manhattan Island, and 
about '5,ooo inhabitants. In 1790 the population was 29,906, and the city 
extended as far north as the lower end of the City Hall Park. In 1805 the 
population was 79,770; in 1840, 312,700: in 1880, 1,206,577, and in 1886, 
1,338,000. The total amount allowed for city expenditures in the final esti- 
mate for the year 1886 was $35,736,320 59, an average of about $28 for every 
man, woman, and child of the city. This sum is enormous when compared 
with the expenditures of other cities. 



CITY OF BROOKLYN. 




ROOKLYN is situated at the west end of Long Island, 
and is the capital of Kinj^s County, N. Y. There are 
thirteen lines of steam ferries plying between Brooklyn 
and New York, and the annex boats connect Jersey City 
with Fulton Street, Brooklyn, every twenty minutes. 
The " Brooklyn Bridge," which crosses the East River» 
and connects Brooklyn with New York, is 125 feet above 
high water; its total length is 5,989 feet, or about a 
mile and a quarter ; it is 85 feet wide, and its grand 
stone piers rise 278 feet above high water ; their size at high-water 
line is 140x59 feet. The Bridge cost $15,000,000, and is a marvel 
of engineering skill. Occupying comparatively elevated ground, 
Brooklyn commands a complete view of the adjacent waters and 
their shores. It is governed by a mayor and board of aldermen. 
Brooklyn has a very large number of churches (nearly 300 in all)> 
whence it is often called the " City of Churches." It has an im- 
mense trade in grain, the warehouses being capable of holding about 
12,000,000 bushels. It possesses also a National navy yard, which 
^ embraces 45 acres of land, and magnificent docks, including a wet- 

dock for the largest vessels, the most extensive in the Union. Along the 
entire river front is an almost unbroken line of storehouses. The Atlantic 
Dock warehouses of South Brooklyn, opposite Governor's Island, cover a 
space of 20 acres, and inclose a basin 40 acres in area, and about 25,000 vessels, 
exclusive of canal boats and lighters, are said to be annually unloaded there. 
The principal articles are molasses, sugar, grain, coffee, oil, hides, and wool. The 
annual storage of merchandise in Brooklyn is valued at nearly $300,000,000. 
The streets, with the exception of Fulton Street, the principal thoroughfare, 
are generally straight, have a width of from 60 to ico feet, and cross each 
other at right angles. The large number of persons who reside in Brooklyn 
and do business in New York, has caused the city to be termed " the bed- 
room of New Y^ork," the larger part of the city being devoted to private 
dwelling-houses. 

Brooklyn is connected with other parts of Long Island by a number of 
railroads, besides lines of city horse railroads in every direction ; an elevated 
railroad extends from Fulton Ferry to East New York, a distance of 5 J^ miles, 
and connects with the Bridge cars. Several other elevated railroads arc in 
course of construction. The city is well supplied with pure soft water. 

(51) 



52 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Under the act of consolidation the city comprises Brooklyn, Williamsburgh^ 
Greenpoint, Wallabout, Bedford, New Brooklyn, Bushwick, Govvanus, and 
South Brooklyn, embracing an area of 16,000 acres, or 25 square miles. The 
city is 8 miles long, with a breadth from 2 to 5 miles ; it has a water-front on 
the East River and Bay of New York, S}4 miles in length. Along the shore, 
near the end of the Island, is a bluff, which is called the " Brooklyn Heights," 
on which are many fine residences. A large portion of the city is level. 

Williamsburgh, now called Brooklyn, E. D. (eastern district), contains a 
large number of manufacturing establishments, and has its entire water-front 
devoted to commercial purposes. Greenpoint also contains large ship-yards 
and manufactories. 

South Brooklyn has an extensive water-front, and contains large wood, 
coal, stone, and lumber yards, numerous planing-mills, distilleries, breweries, 
plaster-mills, foundries, and machine-shops. 

Brooklyn has several parks ; one of the finest in the county is Prospect 
Park. It was commenced in 1866, and covers 550 acres, including the Parade 
Ground. The site is one full of natural beauty, and on which some of the 
battles of the Revolution were fought. The Park has a fertile soil, magnifi- 
cent views, fine forest trees, and a large, magnificent lake. It has a nobler 
effect in sylvan features than Central Park. Upon the Plaza at the main 
entrance is a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln and a beautiful fountain. 
From Lookout Hill can be seen the palatial hotels and Atlantic Ocean at 
Coney Island, which is about seven miles distant. A fine wide boulevard lined 
with shade trees extends from the Park to the Island, on which are numerous 
hosteh'ies, one of the most popular being the " Woodbine," where " English 
Pete " entertains his friends by his wonderful recollections and inventions. 
The boulevard is under the supervision of the Park Commissioners; is gener- 
ally in fine condition and well patronized. The Park has 1 1 miles of walks 
and 10 miles of roads for driving and riding. 

Among tie cemeteries which are widely known are Greenwood, Cypress 
PI ills, and the Evergreens. 

The' more important churches are — St. Ann's, on the Heights, which is a 
fine Episcopal church. The Church of the Holy Trinity is one of the hand- 
somest churches in the country. St. Paul's has a front of 75 feet, and a depth 
of 145 feet. The Church of the Pilgrims is built of gray stone, and inserted 
in the main tower is a piece of the Plymouth Rock ; its pastor, Dr. R. S. 
Storrs, is a noted pulpit orator. Plymouth Church has accommodations for 
seating 2,800 persons ; Henry Ward Beecher has been its pastor for the last 
forty years, and the desire to hear him preach is so great that many pew- 
holders give up their seats to strangers for the evening service. A Roman 
Catholic cathedral is in process of erection on Lafayette Avenue ; it will be 
a very large and imposing structure. The Tabernacle is on Schermerhorn 
Street ; the interior is well arranged for seating a large audience ; the plan 
is a large semicircle, g.'ving the speaker command of the entire building; its 
pastor is the well-known Rev. T. De Witt Talmage. 



CITY OF BROOKLYN. 



53 



There are nearly 200 private schools and educational institutions in Brook- 
lyn. Among the principal buildings are the City Hall, the Kings County 
Court-house, the new Hall of Records, the new Post-office, the new Brooklyn 
Orphan Asylum, the College of St. John the Baptist, the Art building, the 
Academy of Design, and the Long Island Historical Society. The Academy 
of Music, on Montague Street, was built in 1S60 ; it contains seats for 2,300 
persons. Opposite is the Brooklyn Library ; the building was completed in 
1867, at a cost of $227,000. The Kings County Penitentiary is on Nostrand 
Avenue. The four principal theatres are the Park Theatre, on Fulton Street, 
opposite the City Hall Park; the Brooklyn Theatre, corner of Johnson and 
Washington Steets, on the site of one which was destroyed by lire December 
6, 1876, causing the death of over 300 persons— the new structure has proper 
means of exit ; the Grand Opera House, on Elm Place ; and the Criterion 
Theatre, on Fulton Avenue near Grand Avenue. The latter was completed 
in the fall of 1885, and has a very handsome interior. There are twenty- 
one hospitals, dispensaries, and inf^.rmaries, besides numerous other benevo- 
lent institutions. 

The first settlement of Brooklyn was in 1636 ; it was then called " Breucke- 
len," at which time a few Walloon colonists settled on the spot now known as 
the Wallabout. English and Dutch settlers followed. In 1667 the town 
received a charter from the Governor; in 1666 the first church was erected ; 
in 169S the population was 509 — of these, 65 were slaves ; in 1776, on the site 
of the present city, the battle of Long Island was fought, and its neighbor- 
hood was one of the principal seats of the Revolutionary War. Brooklyn 
became a chartered city in 1834, and Williamsburgh became a city in 185 1. In 
1800 the population of Brooklyn was 3,298 ; in 1830, 15,292 ; in 1840, 36,233 ; in 
1850,96,838; in 1 860, after its consolidation with Williamsburgh, the population 
was 266,661 ; in 1870 it was 396,099 ; in 1880, 554,696 ; and in 1886, 650,000. 
The yearly expenditure for 1884 was $8,045,017, being %io.2>2> per capita. 




SHIP-BUILDING 




JERSEY CITY. 



ERSEY CITY, the county seat of Hudson County, is situ- 
ated in the State of New Jersey, on the west bank of the 
Hudson River, opposite New York, of which it is in fact, 
though in another State, an extension. Large steam ferry- 
boats connect it with New York ; they are Hghted with gas, 
and travel day and night. In 1802 it contained but thirteen 
inhabitants living in a single house. In 1804 the Legisla- 
ture of the State granted a charter to the " Associates of the 
Jersey Company," who laid out the place in streets in 1820. 
It was incorporated as " the City of Jersey '; in 1838 the name 
was changed to " Jersey City." It is now about 5 miles long 
and 3 miles wide. Its principal public buildings are the County 
Court-house, the City Hall, the Jail, and the Market ; while 
the business portion of the city has numerous substantial 
business structures, yet it is not as imposing as might be ex- 
pected from its population, but this can very properly be 
attributed to its close proximity to New York. The city has many hand- 
some residences, many fine school buildings and churches. There are several 
small public squares ; some of them contain fountains, and are adorned with 
trees. The Morris Canal, which connects the Delaware with the Hudson, 
terminates here. Numerous lines of railway approach New York at this point ; 
among the principal are the Pennsylvania, the Erie, the Northern New Jersey, 
the New Jersey Midland, the Reading, the Central of New Jersey, and the 
New York and Midland. The work of constructing a tunnel under the Hud- 
son between the two cities was begun about six years ago. 

The city is a part of the New York Customs district, and, therefore, not a 
port of entry. The immense quantities of coal and iron brought to the city 
by the canal and railroads create a large business. The city has large manu- 
facturing interests, including extensive glass works, the United States Watch 
Manufactory, steel works, crucible works, boiler works, zinc works, railroad 
repair and supply shops, locomotive works, machine shops, foundries, sugar 
refineries, breweries, medals, car springs, pottery, chains and spikes, planing- 
mills, soap and candles, articles in copper, saleratus, oils, fireworks, jewelry, 
drugs, lead pencils, chemicals, etc. Large numbers of animals are slaughtered 
in the northern part of the city for the New York market. The city is sup- 
plied with water from the Passaic River. 

Among the charitable institutions are the City Hospital, the Home for 
Aged Women, and the Children's Home. The number of churches is 60. The 
population in 1880 was 120,728, and in 1886, 154,000. The appropriations for 
1886 were $1,623,459. 
(54) 



CITY OF NEWARK. 




EWARK is a city and port of entry of New Jersey, and 
capital of Essex County. It is situated on an elevated 
plain on the right or west bank of the Passaic River, 
lo miles from New York and 4 miles from Newark 
Bay. Its principal street is over 2 miles long, 120 feet 
^ wide, shaded by great elm trees and bordering on three 
«>^^^ beautiful parks. The population, which has increased 
very rapidly, was, in 1780, 1,000; in 1870, 105,059; in 
1880, 136,400; and in 1886, 155,000. The amount appropri- 
ated forfexpenditures in one year was $1,742,912. The College 
of New Jersey was located in Newark from 1747 to 1755 ; the 
Newark Academy was founded in 1792. The town was sacked, 
plundered, and nearly destroyed by the British in 1777. New- 
ark is a very beautiful and industrious city, and contains 104 
churches, an academy, high-school, and 25 public schools. It 
has many fine public buildings, among which are the City Hall, 
Court-house, Custom-house, and Post-ofifice. Among the promi- 
nent societies are the State Historical Society and the Library 
Association. Among the goods manufactured are carriages, india-rubber goods, 
jewelry, machinery, leather, paper, patent leather, and spool thread ; there are 
also very large flour-mills, in fact the city is noted for its varied manufactures, 
numerous industries, and large life and fire insurance companies. The shipping 
interests are very large, the docks being nearly a mile and a half in length. 
The total capital and assets belonging to the financial institutions amount to 
about $100,000,000. It is the largest city in the State, and contains nearly 
two hundred miles of streets and nearly fifty miles of sewers. Great 
quantities of building material are produced from the brown-stone quar- 
ries a short distance from Newark. In 1682 Newark was famous for 
the manufacture of cider. In 1665 the colonies of Hartford and New 
Haven, Conn., being united in spite of the opposition of the people of 
Branford, the latter deserted that part of the country in a body, headed by 
their pastor, and taking with them their families and household goods. They 
bought the land on which Newark now stands, from the Hackensack Indians, 
for ;^I30, 12 blankets, and 12 guns, and there founded their city, laying it out 
in broad streets. No one was permitted to hold office, to vote, or was a free- 
man, who did not have membership in the Congregational Church. About 
three miles from Newark is the beautiful city of Orange, with a population 
of 12,000. One of the numerous horse railroads connects the two cities. 

(55) 





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.^Vi-'^ ^>^^^A-* 





FACSIMILE OP LETTER FROM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO MR. 8TRAIIAN. 



CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, 




ip HILADELPHIA is the chief city and seaport of Penn- 
sylvania, and the second as to population and import- 
ance in the United Slates. It is situated on a plain on 
the west bank of the Delaware River (which separates 
it from New Jersey), at the mouth of the Schuylkill, 
v/hich since 1854, the time of the extension of the 
boundaries 
of the city to those 
of the county, flows 
through the city and 
joins the Delaware. 
The city between the 
two rivers is about 
3 miles wide, and its 
water front on the 
Delaware is 23 miles 
in extent. It is 96 
miles from New York, 135 from 
Washington, and 96 from the 
open sea. Its extreme length is 
about 23 miles north and south, 
and averages about 5^ miles wide 
east and west; it embraces 129 
square miles. The city as founded 
and planned in 1682 by William 
Penn was bounded by Vine and 
Cedar Streets and the two rivers. 
That portion which lies west of 
the Schuylkill is now called West 
Philadelphia, Penn stated : " I 
took charge of the Province of Pennsylvania for the Lord's sake. I wanted 
to afford an asylum for the good and oppressed of every nation, and to frame a 
government which might be an example. I desired to show men as good 
and happy as they could be ; and I had kind views to the Indians." With 
these ends in view he selected its name. The Indian name of its original site 
was Coaquenaka. In 1682 twenty-three ships arrived containing settlers, who 
were mostly Friends. 

(57) 




INDEPENDENCE HALL. 



58 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



SKETCH OF THE NEW SETTLEMENT. 

In 1684 the new settlement numbered over 300 houses and 2,500 popu- 
lation. It grew rapidly by large immigration from Germany and the North 
of Ireland. Penn returned to London, but revisited the city in 1699, at which 
period the population was 4,500. The city was incorporated in 1701, after 
which Pcnn took his final departure. In 1704, at the time of tne war of 
England with France and Spain, the Governor of the Province created a 
militia. This was very obnoxious to the Friends, and in order to enlist them 
in its favor the Governor used stratagem. He sent a messenger from New- 
castle on the Fair Day in 1706, with the news that the enemy's ships were in 
the river. The Governor, with drawn sword and on horseback, urged the 
people to arm for the defence of the city. Great excitement prevailed ; the 
people hid their valuables and fled, but the Quakers were not disturbed, and 
could neither be frightened nor coaxed to take an interest in the movement, 
when the fraud was finally discovered. The Governor was displaced. 

In 1 7 19 was here printed the first American newspaper, the Weekly Ller- 
cury. The Gazette was established in 1728, and afterward edited by Benjamin 
Franklin, who, by the publication of his " Plain Truth," in 1747, was the first 
to rouse a military spirit of enthusiasm among the people, which culminated 
in a military force of 10,000 men. In 1755 a militia bill was passed, and 
Franklin became Colonel of the City Regiment. Philadelphia finally became 
very prominent from 1765 to 1774 in resisting British aggression. At Car- 
penters' Hall, September 5, 1774, was held the first Continental Congress; the 
second was held in the State House, May 10, 1775. It was here that Colonel 
George Washington, of Virginia, on June 15, 1775, was appointed General 
and Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army. On July 4th the 
Declaration of Independence was adopted in the State House, and proclaimed 
July 8, 1776. The city was in possession of the British from September, 1777, 
to June, 1778 ; at that time the population of the city was 21,767. The battle 
of Germantown, of Revolutionary fame, was fought October 4, 1777. The 
city expended much treasure in men and money in the cause of the Union. 
Except the period of the British occupation, the city was the capital of Penn- 
sylvania until 1799, ^'^^ the Government of the Union was conducted here 
from 1790 to 1800. It was the first city of America until surpassed by New 
York. In 1812 the city was visited by yellow fever; in the same year the 
steam water-works at Fairmount Park were commenced. In 1832 the Asiatic 
cholera caused nearly 1,000 deaths. In 1837 specie payment was suspended, 
and the failure of the Bank of the United States in 1839 caused great depres- 
sion in commerce. Serious riots disturbed the city at different times from 
1834 to 1844. The Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad was 
completed in 1832. Gas was introduced in 1S36, and the first telegraph lines 
were established in 1846. The great Sanitary Fair held in Logan Square in 
the same year netted over $1,000,000. 



CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 



THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION 

was opened in Fairmount Park, May lo, 1876, 
100 years after the Declaration of Independence, 
on a magnificent scale, covering 236 acres. The 
cost of the five principal buildings was $4,500,- 
000. The enclosure contained 200 separate 
buildings. The main building covered no less 
than 20 acres, and the roof was 70 feet high. 
It was 1,876 feet long, 464 feet wide, with pro- 
jecting wings in the centre 416 feet long. Space 
was apportioned as follows, in square feet : Ar- 
gentine Republic, 2,861 ; Austria-Hungary, 24,- 
727; Belgium, 15,598; Brazil, 6,899; Canada, 
24,118; Chili, 3,244; China, 6,628 ; France, 45,- 
460; Germany, 29,629; Great Britain and Ire- 
land, 54,155 ; India and British Colonies, 24,193 ; 
Hawaiian Islands, 1,575; italy, 8,943; Japan, 
17,831; Luxemburg, 247 ; Mexico, 6,567; Neth- 
erlands, 15,948; Norway, 6,959; Orange Free 
State, 1,058; Peru, 1,462; Spain and Colonies, 
11,253; Sweden, 17,799; Switzerland, 6,693; 
Tunis, 2,015; Turkey, 3,347; United States, 
136,684. 

This gives a fair idea of the magnitude of 
the main building. Within this vast space the 
wealth, power, industries, and greatness of the 
nations were exhibited to millions of admiring 
visitors. The exhibition was opened every day, 
except Sundays, for six months ; the number of 
admissions was nearly 10,000,000, of which 
nearly 8,000,000 paid the regular fee of 50 
cents, and nearly 1,000,000 paid the special 
rate of 25 cents. A large building was devoted 
to the progress of modern education. The 
Women's Pavilion, designed to receive the prod- 
ucts of woman's ingenuity, cov^ered an acre of 
ground. The Memorial Hall, or Art Building, 
remains as a permanent representative of the 
exhibition. The building is 365 feet long by 
210 feet wide, and 59 feet high. It is made of 
granite, glass, and iron. It is a beautiful struc- 
ture. Machinery Hall covered 13 acres, and 
was the next in size to the main building-. The 



!;)/':;! 



p 



1^1 



6o PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



m 



United States building was 504 feet by 300, 
and the operations of the Government service 
were exhibited in this great building. Horti- 
cultural Hall, which was intended to be per- 
manent, was built of iron and glass, by the 
city of Philadelphia. Its size is 383 feet by 
193 feet, and 72 feet in height, and covers 
820 by 540 feet of ground. Several nations 
had pavilions for their commissioners and 
others. There were 26 buildings represent- 
ing as many States. Many private exhibitors 
and companies had special buildings of their 
own. Among them were the Telegraph 
Building, the Transportation Building, the 
Bankers' Building, the American Kindergar- 
ten, the Bible Building, and others. The in- 
genuity of man was supplemented by bees 
making honey in the midst of all the crowd. 



■0'0: 



U'i 



^iM K 




PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST. 

Among the places of historical interest in 
Philadelphia are — Carpenters' Hall, between 
Third and Fourth Streets, on Chestnut 
Street ; the legendary treaty ground at 
Shackamaxon, with a monument marking the 
site of the elm tree, erected in 1827 ; the 
Germantown battle-ground, and Fort Miflin, 
on the site of the mud fort on the west bank 
of the Delaware ; the old London Coffee- 
House on the southwest corner of Front and 
Market, and Independence Hall, or the old 
State House, on Chestnut, between Fifth 
and Sixth Streets, built in 1732-35. It was 
in this building that the second Continental 
Congress adopted the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and where, July 8, 1776, the famous 
Liberty bell fulfilled the great mission in- 
scribed on it in the words of the Scriptures: 
" Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to 
all the inhabitants thereof" (Lev. xxv. 10). 
In one of the rooms of this building is the 
National Museum, filled with relics of the 
Colonial and Revolutionary history of our 
country. In the adjoining hall Congress met 



CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 



6i 



for ten years, and Washington, Adams, and Jefferson were inaugurated. At 
the southwest corner of Seventh and Market is the house in which Jefferson 
wrote the Declaration of Independence. The new County Court House and 
City Hall is a magnificent structure, probably the largest and finest in the 
country. It is situated at the intersection of Broad and Market Streets. It 
covers nearly 4^ acres, exclusive of the court-yard. The new United States 
Post-Ofifice is one of the finest in America, and is located on Chestnut, Ninth, 
and Market Streets. The Custom-House and Mint are among the prominent 
buildings of the city. The Masonic Temple, at the corner of Broad and 
Filbert Streets, is said to be the finest Masonic structure in the world. It 
cost $i,3CX),ooo, and is in the Norman style. The Government arsenals. Navy 
Yard, Naval Asylum, and Naval Hospital are situated at Bridesburgh and 
Gray's Ferry Road. 



PARKS, PLACES OF INTEREST, AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

Fairmount Park is nearly 11 miles long and 2 miles wide, and is one of 
the finest parks in America, covering 2,740 acres. Its fine old trees, broad 
expanses of turf, varied 
surface, and great ex- 
tent, with the Schuyl- 
kill River flowing by 
its side, and the Wis- 
s a h i c k o n , flowing 
through a picturesque 
rocky valley clothed 
with the trees, shrubs, 
and wild vines of vir- 
gin nature, through 
dark dells, broken by 
numerous waterfalls, 
give it a different 
character from that of 
other parks. 

Philadelphia has a 
number of public 
squares, five of which were laid out when the city was founded. Among the 
daily papers published in Philadelphia twelve have an aggregate circulation of 
350,000, and the weeklies have a still larger circulation. The city contains 
over 2,000 public schools ; evening schools are conducted during the autumn 
and winter months. The Girard College is one of the finest architectural 
buildings in the country. The University of Pennsylvania is the outgrowth 
of the College of Philadelphia, founded through the influence of Dr. Benjamin 
Franklin and others. There are many other fine colleges in Philadelphia, 
including two dental colleges ; also, the Academy of Natural Sciences, which, 




CARPENTERS HALL. 



02 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

is strictly scientific, and has a library of 30,000 volumes and fine collections. 
There is also the Wagner Institute and Franklin Institute. The American 
Philosophical Society was founded in 1763. There are many theological 
colleges. The Byzantine Order has a superb structure on the west side of 
Broad Street devoted to art. It contains a copious collection of sculptures 
and paintin<^s. It was organized in 1 803, and is the oldest academy of art in the 
country. There is also a School of Design for Women, conducted on a liberal 
scale, and founded in 1850. There are numerous libraries in Philadelphia, the 
Apprentices' being free. The Historical Library of Pennsylvania is very large 
and valuable. The city has numerous charitable institutions of every kind, 
including 24 hospitals, 12 dispensaries, 20 asylums, and homes of various 
kinds. The Bank of North America is the oldest in the country. Many of 
the bank buildings have great architectural beauty and merit. On Chestnut 
Street are located some of the best hotels, the Times, Ledger building, many- 
fine business structures, the Mint, and several handsome churches. On this 
street is conducted the finest retail trade of the city. In the magnificence of 
its public and private buildings Philadelphia is second only to New York and 
Washington. 

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS— MANUFACTURES— COMMERCE. 

The great financial centre is in the neighborhood of Third Street, the 
latter being considered the Wall Street of Philadelphia. It is situated in the 
lower portion of the city. In this section can be found the great banking and 
insurance companies, the courts, and the Custom-House. The city is famous 
for its building and loan associations, of which there are about seven hundred, 
mostly composed of trades people. Philadelphia leads every other city in the 
Union in the number of its manufacturing establishments, also in the number 
of persons employed, in the amount of capital invested, the value of the 
material used, and the variety of articles manufactured. It is second to New 
York only in the value of the products. The banks of the river are devoted 
to commerce, and manufacturing establishments are to be found in all direc- 
tions. Nearly 10,000 manufacturing establishments give employment to about 
220,000 hands; the capital invested in these establishments amounts to over 
$250,000,000; they produce about $500,000,000 annually. The commerce of 
the city is of comparatively recent growth, and is of great importance. In 
18S0 the imports amounted to $38.933,'832, and exports, $50,685,838; the 
exports included provisions, breadstuffs, tallow, petroleum, naphtha, tobacco, 
and benzine. The duties received in 1880 were $12,726,376.80. In the .same 
year i6,8S6 male immigrants arrived, and 13,078 females. The coal trade of 
the city is simply enormous, vast quantities being brought here for shipment. 
The lumber trade is very extensive, the supplies coming from the northern 
part of the State, Virginia, and North and South Carolina. Philadelphia is 
one of the four great centres of the book trade; the others being New York, 
Boston, and Chicago. Publishing is conducted on a very extensive scale. It 
rivals any city in the Union in the manufacture of Family Bibles. The 



CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 63 

oysters of the Chesapeake and of the New Jersey coast form an important 
branch of trade. An extensive trade is done in Florida oranges, which are 
shipped in vast quantities to Philadelphia every year. It is also one of the 
principal markets for peaches and other fruit. The manufacturing facilities of 
the city are very extensive. Among these may be mentioned the coal and 
iron fields in close proximity, and the great water-power which abounds in the 
vicinity. The textile industries employ 75,000 persons, and produce about 
$90,000,000, distributed as follows : Carpets, $19,000,000 ; hosiery, $16,500,000 ; 
vv'orsted and woolen yarns, $11,000,000; silk and mixed goods, $6,000,000; 
cotton goods, $19,000,000; woolen and mixed fabrics, $18,500,000. The iron 
and steel production amounts to $30,000,000 ; machinery, $10,000,000; sugar, 
$20,000,000; building materials, $10,000,000. Boots and shoes, chemicals, 
hardware, tools, furniture, gold and silverware are among the other important 
industries. The Customs district includes the city of Camden, N. J., and all 
the shores of the Delaware in Pennsylvania and tributaries. There are many 
regular lines of steamers to Southern and various coastwise ports, a line to 
Havana and New Orleans, a line to Liverpool, and another to Antwerp. 

GROWTH AND GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY. 

The city has about 800 miles of paved streets. The streets intersect at 
right angles, and the cross-streets, running east and west, are in numerical 
order from the Delaware River, commencing with Front, First, Second, 
Third, etc. In numbering the houses 100 numbers are allotted to each block. 
In going north or south Market Street is the point where the enumeration 
begins. Iron ship building is carried on at the Delaware and at Chester. 
The city is exceedingly healthy, has an abundance of water and good drain- 
age, and its growth is extraordinary. Its population in 1683 was 500; in 
1777, 23,734; in 1800, 70,287; in 1850, 300,365; in i860, after the extension 
of the city, 508,034 ; 1870, 674,022; 1880, 846,980; 1886, 935,000. The annual 
city expenditures are about $15,000,000. Philadelphia contains over 160,000 
dwelling-houses, all of solid material. The great extent of territory is such 
that the necessity of tenement-houses has not existed as in other cities ; it is 
therefore pre-eminently a city of homes, as on the average a house contains 
only five persons. The city has over 30 markets, which furnish good food in 
great abundance. The water-works are controlled by the city, and the supply 
is obtained from the Delaware and the Schuylkill. Philadelphia contains 70 
public fountains, 61 of which were erected by the Philadelphia Fountain 
Society. There are over 150 miles of sewers. The Fire and Police Depart- 
ments are very efficient. 

The municipal government consists of the Mayor and Recorder, a Select 
and Common Council. The Mayor, elected for three years, has control of the 
police, and the right to approve or veto the ordinances of the City Councils. 
The Select Council consists of 31 members, representing the 31 Wards, elected 
by the people for three years; the Common Council contains nearly 100 
members, each representing 2,000 tax-payers, elected for two years. The 



64 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

management of the city is controlled by councils, and the different depart- 
mcntb% trusts, and commissions. The Controller, Treasurer, Solicitor, Collector 
of Taxes, and Commissioners are elected by the people. Philadelphia is rep- 
resented in the State Legislature by 8 Senators and 38 Assemblymen, and in 
Congress by 5 members. The United States Circuit and District Courts for 
East*crn Pennsylvania and terms of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania are 
held in Philadelphia. There are four Common Pleas Courts, Courts of Oyer 
and Terminer, and of Quarter Sessions, and an Orphans' Court. 

RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 

There are in Philadelphia about 650 religious congregations. The church 
having the greatest amount of historical interest is probably Christ Church, 
which occupies the site of a frame building, erected in 1695, on Second Street, 
above Market. This, after many enlargements, finally gave place to the 
present noble structure, a portion of which was finished in 1731, and the whole 
finally completed in 1754. Its chime of bells, which were cast in London, was 
the first used in the United States. Benjamin Franklin, Washington, and 
Adams worshipped in this church, and it was there that John Penn was buried. 
Some of the communion plate still in use was presented by Queen Anne. In 
the crypt of the school-house lie the remains of Robert Morris and Bishop 
White of Revolutionary fame. In the burying-ground belonging to the church 
at Fifth and Arch Streets lie the remains of Peyton Randolph, President of 
the first Continental Congress; Major-General Charles Lee, Benjamin Frank- 
lin, and Deborah, his wife. St. Peter's Church-yard contains the remains of 
Commodore Stephen Decatur. David Rittenhousc, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, sleeps in the church-yard of the old Pine Street 
Presbyterian Church. Conspicuous for architectural beauty may be men- 
tioned the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Logan Square; 
St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, Locust Street ; the West Arch Street 
Presbyterian Church ; the Beth-Eden Baptist Church, Broad Street ; the Arch 
Street Methodist Church, and the Rodef Sholem Synagogue. The whole num 
bcr of cemeteries and burying-grounds in Philadelphia is 45. The first is 
Laurel Hill, picturesquely beautiful. The oldest church in the city, except 
Christ Church, is the Gloria Dei, dedicated in 1 700; originally connected with 
the Lutheran Church in Sweden, but for 50 years past with the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. 

CLUBS— RAILROADS— BRIDGES, ETC. 

There are thirteen bridges across the Schuylkill, seven of which are built 
of solid material and six of wood. The Callowhill Street Bridge, with the 
approaches, is 2,730 feet long; it is 50 feet above tide-water, and is a work of 
great engineering skill. The river span is 348 feet, and a span which is thrown 
over the Pennsylvania Railroad is 140 feet. This bridge has an upper and a 
lower passage-way, the upper being 32 feet higher than the lower one. The 
South Street Bridge is 2,419 feet long. The handsomest bridge is the Girard. 



CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 65 

It is 1,000 feet long, lOO feet wide, and has five spans; it cost $1,404,445. 
Small steamboats run on the Schuylkill, and seven ferries connect the city 
with points in New Jersey. 

Philadelphia contains five armories. Clubs of various descriptions, social 
and sporting, are numerous. Among the social clubs the Philadelphia, Union 
League, and Reform Clubs are conspicuous. The Union League House has 
the finest building ; it is in the French renaissance style. Amusement and 
recreation have a superb temple in the American Academy of Music, Broad 
and Locust Streets, elegantly fitted within, with a seating capacity for 2,900. 
The leading theatres are the Walnut, Arch, and Chestnut. The Young Men's 
Christian Association has a building of imposing architecture at Fifteenth and 
Chestnut Streets. 

There are twenty lines of horse-cars, with an invested capital of over 
$13,000,000. The principal railroads connecting with the city are the Penn- 
sylvania, the Bound Brook, the Philadelphia & Erie, the Reading & North 
Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore. 

On the night of January 26, 1886, the St. Cloud and London Hotels were 
destroyed by fire ; the guests had a very narrow escape. One of the hand- 
somest business blocks on Arch Street was also consumed, the total loss 
amounting to over $500,000. The five-story brick building, Nos. 715, 717 and 
719 Arch Street, was discovered to be on fire at midnight. The fire had 
evidently been burning for some time. The flames spread to No. 721 Arch 
Street, and the heat became so intense that the firemen found difficulty in 
reaching the building with streams of water. The building in which the fire 
originated is one of the handsomest on Arch Street. Shortly after 2 A.M. it 
was evident that the St. Cloud Hotel was doomed, as great volumes of smoke 
came pouring through the fifth floor front windows. During the early stages 
of the fire, and before it had reached the hotel, the police ran through the 
latter building to awaken the guests who had not previously been alarmed. 
Some of them were too sleepy to be aroused, and the ofificers were obliged to 
break in a few of the doors to get the people out. There was a great scarcity 
of water, and the firemen were almost helpless in consequence. For a long 
time only one stream could be directed upon the fire from the front of the 
hotel, and it seemed as though it was practically useless to attempt to stay 
the ravages of the flames. By 3 A.M. the cornice and a portion of the top 
story of the hotel fell into Arch Street. At 3.45 A.M. the fire was under 
control. The St. Cloud Hotel, which was almost entirely destroyed, was one 
of the oldest in the city. It w^as opened as the Ashland House about 1858. 
George Mullin leased it about 1871, when it was enlarged and remodelled. 
The hotel was a five-story structure, with a frontage of 80 feet. It had accom- 
modations for 350 guests, and was filled to two-thirds its capacity. The pro- 
prietors said they valued their furniture and effects at (^50,000, which was fully 
covered by insurance. The London Temperance Hotel adjoins the St. Cloud 
on the east, and also caught fire. The guests were directed to leave it, and a!l 
of them succeeded in saving their personal property. * 




CITY OP BOSTON. 



'^^1;.:^^'^^ OSTON is the great metropolis of New England, the 
'^SS'life capital of Massachusetts, and of our American cities 



cap 

second to New York in commerce. It is 44 miles north- 
east of Providence, and 232 miles from New York. It 
is situated at the mouth of the Charles River, on the 
western extremity of Massachusetts Bay. The spot was 
•W;/^^.'iJ^ first visited by Europeans in 1621. In 1625 William 
"'^^ oij Blackstone, an English clergyman, settled, on Beacon 

'^C ^ Hill. In 1629 Charles I. granted a charter constituting 

"the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New 
•;^^ En<dand," and twelve men of extensive fortune, among whom were 
John Winthrop and Richard Saltonstall, entered Boston June 17, 
1630. The city, which was incorporated in 1822, now contains 
nearly 400 miles of streets, which cost over $36,000,000. There 
*''~^ are many bridges connecting Boston with the suburbs. The mill- 
{(yO <^am, which cost $700,000, is a continuation of Beacon Street, and 
V'-9 once inclosed 600 acres of " flats " which were covered by the tide ; 
c\'' these have since been filled in, and that section now contains some 

of the finest dwellings and churches in Boston. The scenery in the 
suburbs of Boston is 
very beautiful, and 
many of the private 
residences are very 
elctiant. 



• I- 



PLACES OF HIS- 
TORICAL IN- 
TEREST. 
Among the build- 
ings remarkable for 
their historical inter- 
est is Christ church, 
the oldest church in 
the city, and the one 
from the steeple of [ 
which, in the Revolu- T-i 
tionary War, Paul Re- 
vcrc's signal was hung 
(66) 




PARK STREET, BOSTON. 



CITY OF BOSTON. 



61 



"Out by Captain John Pulling, merchant, of Boston. The Rev. Mather Byles, 
Jr., who was rector of this church during the Revolution, left town on account 
of his attachment to the royal cause. The old South church, built in 1730, is 
one of the most famous in the country. In this building Joseph Warren 
delivered his memorable oration on the anniversary of the " Boston Massacre," 
March 5, 1776. Here the patriots met to discuss the tax on tea. In 1775 tlie 
building was " desecrated " by British soldiers, who tore out its galleries, filled 
it with earth, and used it as a place for cavalry drill. The most famous, per- 
haps, is Fancuil Hall, well known as the " Cradle of Liberty," from the fact 
that, during the period preceding the Revolution, it was used for public gath- 
erings at which the patriotic spirit of the colonists was stirred by the eloquence 
of the great patriots. Faneuil Hall was built in 1742, destroyed by fire in 
1 761, and rebuilt in 1762. Before 1822 all town meetings were held in this 
famous hall. 

The Common, which covers 48 acres, contains trees over 200 years old. 
Many of the avenues of 
the city contain fine old 
English elms, which are 
not surpassed by any in 
the United States. The 
Common was dedicated to 
the use of the public by 
the founders of the city. 
The "Public Garden" is 
an extension of the Com- 
mon, containing nearly 25 
acres, separated from the 
Common only by a street. 
It is a botanical garden, 
containing a small lake, a conservatory, and numerous fine statues. The city 
has over twenty smaller parks. Commonwealth Avenue is a fine boulevard, 
250 feet wide and nearly two miles long; in the centre are double rows of 
trees, and walks through grass-plots, shrubbery, flowers, etc. 

The city has, in public places, statues of Charles Sumner, Josiah Quincy, Gov- 
ernor Winthrop, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Everett, Horace Mann, Alexan- 
der Hamilton, Daniel Webster, Columbus, Washington, Governor Andrew, 
and Samuel Adams. Besides these, there is in Park Square a group represent- 
ing the emancipation of slaves, and on the Common another to the memory 
of the National soldiers who died in the War of the Rebellion. 

The waters of Lake Cochituate, distant 20 miles, have since 1848 been 
conveyed by a brick conduit into the grand reservoir of Brookline, and thence 
been carried into the subordinate reservoirs respectively of the different sec- 
tions of the city. The annexation of Charlestown brought with it the waters 
of Mystic Lake. Boston, as the centre — social, political, and commercial — of 
the best educated and most intelligent State in the Union, is pre-eminent 




CUSTOM-HOUSE, BOSTON, 



58 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



throuL,^hout the Republic in literature and science. Its trade, likewise, is mar 
veliou's ; it is, in fact, more marvellous, m proportion to physical facilities, than 
even that of New York ; for while the latter city, with the lakes on the one side 
and the ocean on the other, and with the Hudson as a link between them, 
d ains regions of vast extent and singular fertility ; Boston, to say nothing of 
rugged soil and ungenial climate, is cut off from the interior, such as it is, by 
the entire want of inland waters. But what New York has so largely inherited 
from nature, Boston has in some measure created for itself. By eight great 
systems of railway it reaches, besides the coasts to the north and south, the 
St. Lawrence and the lakes, the Hudson and the Mississippi ; while it virtually 
connects those channels of communication with Europe and its network of 
iron roads. In several departments of maritime trafific, such as the coasting 
intercourse and the trade with Russia, India, and China, Boston is under- 
stood to possess far more than its share. 

COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 

Its harbor is open at all 
seasons, and its deep water 
front affords accommoda- 
tion for loading and un- 
loading vessels without de- 
lay. It affords anchorage 
for over 500 vessels of the 
largest class. In the har- 
bor are more than fifty 
beautiful islands. The prin- 
cipal entrance to the har- 
bor is very narrow, it is 
between Castle and Gover- 
nor's Islands, and is well defended by I'^ort Independence and Fort Warren. 
There are stationary elevators under which steamers can be loaded. Boston 
has made great progress in competing for the export trade, and the opening 
of the " through business," which first originated in Boston, has done much 
for her shipping interests. Boston claims to be the shortest and cheapest line 
between the great Northwest and Europe. In extent of imports Boston ranks 
next to New York, and third city in the United States in the value of foreign 
commerce. New York being first and New Orleans second. The total value 
of the commerce in Boston in one year was $87,055,255. Over 1,000 vessels 
belong to the port, with an aggregate tonnage of nearly 400,000. The princi- 
pal industries are 45 book-publishing establishments, over lOO printing-houses, 
55 cabinet-ware factories, about 35 oook-bindcries, 40 establishments for the 
manufacture of machinery, 33 hat and cap factories, 30 establishments for the 
manufacture of watches. It is a centre of the boot and shoe trade, the leather 
trade, and of the trade in foreign and domestic dry-goods. The other manu- 
factures of the city are many and varied, including — besides ship-building, 




lllL llANCUCK HOUSE, BOSTON. 



CITY OF BOSTON. 



69 



sugar refining, and leather dressing— clothing, jewelry, chemicals, brass and 
iro^ii castings, cars, carriages, pianos, upholstery, glass, organs, melodeons, 
etc., etc. The business of the city is promoted by 61 national banks- 
more than any other city in the Union has— with a capital of more than 
$57,coo,ooo. Thirty of these have cash capitals of $1,000,000 or more each. 

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS— GROWTH OF BOSTON, ETC. 
The first ■" meeting-house " was erected near the head of State Street, 
1632. John Cotton was one of its pastors. The city contains now over 
200 churches. Free 
schools, open to all, 
were established in the 
United States first in 
Boston 250 years ago, 
and the excellence of 
the system of public in- 
struction there has been 
so great that many other 
cities have taken its 
schools for patterns. 
The university at Cam- 
bridge properly belongs 
to the Boston school 
system, for it was found- 
ed by the men who set- 
tled Boston, and was in- 
tended for the educa- 
tion of the youth of the 
city and surrounding 
count ry. Indeed, 
** Newe Town," as Cam- 
bridge was first called, 
was intended for the 
capital of the commonwealth. Harvard College was founded in 1638, and for 
two generations was the only college in New England. The public Latin 
School in Boston was founded in 1635, the Institute of Technology in 1861, 
Boston College in 1863, Boston University in 1869. There are more than 200 
public schools in the city. Private schools abound. The chief libraries are 
the Public, with 459,031 volumes, and 115,000 pamphlets, etc., distributing 
1,500,000 volumes a year ; the Athenaeum, 125,000 volumes, circulating 75,000 
volumes a year ; the Historical Society's library, containing 75,000 books and 
pamphlets, many of them being among the rarest of publications ; the State 
Library, with 50,000 volumes ; the Social Law Library, with 16,000 lawbooks; 
the library of the Historic-Genealogical Society, 75,000 books and pamphlets ; 
the General Theological Library, with 15,000 volumes. 




LONGFELLOW'S RESIDENCE, CAMBRIDGE. 



PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



The old State House is situated at the head of State Street. It was oi^ 
this spot that the old Town House was built in 1763. It was in the street in 
front of it that the " Boston Massacre " occurred, at the time of the excite- 
ment caused by the Stamp Act. It was from the balcony of this building that 
the Declaration of Independence was read. 

On a peninsula to the north of East Boston, rises Bunker's Hill, so famous. 
in the war of independence ; while the Dorchester Heights, only less famous^ 
occupy the centre of South Boston ; and, lastly, the peninsula of Old Boston 
seems to have originally taken the name of Tremont, from its three mounts or 
hillocks. 

Boston has many public buildings worthy of notice. Among those that 
arc remarkable for architectural beauty or grandeur are the United States 
Post-office, on Post-office Square, Trinity church, the Museum of Fine Arts, the 
Hotel Vendome, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the State House, the City 
Hall, the English High and Latin School on Warren Avenue, and the new 

" Old South church." The Eng- 
lish High and Latin School was 
begun in 1877, and the portion 
to be used for school purposes 
cost more than $400,CXD0. The 
remainder is used by officers of 
the school board. The entire 
edifice is one of the largest for 
educational purposes in America^ 
Boston's original owner, John 
Blackstone, sold out his right 
and title, in 1635, for ^^30. With, 
so well chosen a site, and, doubt-, 
less, also through the industry and 
enterpriseof its Puritan occupiers,, 
the new town increased so stead- 
ily in wealth and population^ 
that in less than a century and a 
half it became the foremost champion of colonial independence. Since then 
it has overleaped its natural limits, swarming off, as it were, into an island 
toward the northeast, and into the mainland on the southeast, and consists of 
Old, East, and South Boston ; Roxbury, annexed in 1868 ; Dorchester, annexed 
in 1870; and Charlcstown, Brighton, and West Roxbury, annexed in 1873; 
which are connected by bridges. An immense dam, called the Western 
Avenue, connects the whole with the inner side of the harbor. All the divi- 
sions of the city are of an uneven surface ; undulation, in fact, is a character- 
istic of the entire neighborhood — continent, islands, and peninsulas alike. 
The inhabitants are essentially of the old British type, as befits the descend- 
ants of the " Pilgrim Fathers." 

In 1880 the 250th anniversary of the settlement of Boston was celebrated. 




GORE HALL, CAMBRIDGE, 



CITY OF BOSTON. 71 

Boston was a town for 192 years. In 1700 the population was only about 
7,000; in 1790, 18,000; in 1830,61,000; in 1870,250,000; in 1880,363,968; 
in 1886, 410,000. If we add to this the population of the CiTY OF CAMBRIDGE, 
which in 1886 was 60,000, it brings the population up to 470,000. 

The Highland Street Railway Company petitioned the Legislature on 
January 26, 1886, for leave to lease or purchase the franchises and property of 
any and all other street railroad companies in Boston, making one consolidated 
company, with authority to make such undergound or surface alterations of 
the streets as may be necessary to establish and maintain a cable system of 
motive power, and also that it may increase its capital stock as may be 
necessary to carry out the above plans. The Highland Company claim that 
by this scheme they can run a less number of cars, give better service and 
prevent the street blockades which have been so annoying the past year. 



THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE 
Is 3 miles northwest of Boston, situated on the west of the Charles River, 
which separates it from Boston, and is one of the county seats of Middlesex 
County. It is practically a part of Boston, as Allegheny is of Pittsburgh or 
Brooklyn is of New York. 

Here, in 1638, within eighteen years after the landing of the Pilgrim 
Fathers, was founded Harvard University by the Rev. John Harvard, who 
bequeathed it a legacy of about $4,000, and which has gradually been endowed 
to the amount of $1,000,000. It is the oldest institution of the kind in Amer- 
ica. In addition to the collegiate department proper, the University includes a 
theological, law, scientific, and medical school, and a department for such as 
wish to prepare themselves for business avocations without going through a 
classical course. Cambridge is rapidly advancing. The population in 1830 was 
6,072; that of 1870 was 39,634; 1880,52,669; 1886,60,000. The city consists 
of North, East, Cambridgeport, and Old Cambridge. It covers a large area 
of territory. It is beautifully laid out in fine broad avenues with shade trees. 
It was under one of these trees that Washington took command of the Revolu- 
tionary forces in 1775. The house in which Longfellow, the poet, lived was 
formerly occupied by Washington. The College Duildings occupy fourteen 
acres and are situated in Old Cambridge. They are shaded by fine old elm trees. 

Among the conspicuous buildings near the College are the Harvard Law 
School; the Lawrence Scientific School ; the Museum of Comparalive Zoology, 
founded by Louis Agassiz ; the Observatory, and Memorial Hall, which is 
310 feet by 115, with a tower 200 feet high, erected to the memory of Har- 
vard graduates and students who lost their lives in the service of their country 
during the Civil War. This is conceded to be the grandest Co'lege Hall in 
the world. It contains three apartments — a memorial vestibule, a dining 
hall which seats 1,000 persons, and the Sanders theatre for large academic 
assemblages. A fine granite monument, erected by the city in honor of the 
soldiers who lost their lives in the Rebellion, stands near the college. 



;• PICTURESgaE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Mount Auburn is one of the finest cemeteries in the country. It is laid 
out in a picturesque manner and occupies 125 acres of hill and valley. It was 
d'dicatcd in 1831, and is the oldest of the beautiful burying-placcs of 
America. 

Cambridge is not much of a business centre, but is, to a great extent, a 
home for the people of Boston. Among its industries may be mentioned the 
m.mufacture of steam-engines, locomotives, cabinet-ware, chemicals, biscuit, 
brushes, candles, soap, chairs, carriages, glass, marble, books, etc., etc. The 
University printing-office is located here, and the Riverside Press; the former 
is the oldest printing establishment in the Union. 

Bridges over Charles River connect Cambridge with Boston, Brighton, and 
P-rookline. Horse railroads connect with all adjacent towns, and the Boston 
and Lowell and the Fitchburg railroads pass through East Cambridge. 

Cambridge has a large number of fine public schools, thirty-two churches, 
and several newspapers. The place was first settled as Newtown in 1630. At 
that time it was intended by Winthrop and others to make it the principal 
town in the colony. Mr. Hooker was settled as the first minister in 1632. In 
1638 a vote was passed appropriating money to establish a public school, to 
which was added the large grant, as above, by the Rev. John Harvard, of 
Charlcstown. The city was incorporated in 1846. It now has a regular City 
Government vested in a Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council. 




DRAWING-ROOM CAR — hkUM IJOSTON TO NEW ORLEANS. 



Ql^'*'^^'^^^ 




NEW ORLEANS SCENERY. 

Square. 3. Garvier Street. 4. 

s T!'r,+^o^^,o:i;C'ii> ."""T,"*^®?*' 6. Robert E. Lee Monumeiii,. ,. w esu Jina n-omenaa 

8. Entrance to Metaire Cemetery. 9. West End Hotel. 10. Tombs Metaire Cemetery. 

11. Staircase to Grand Opera House. 13. On the Levee. 



1. Metaire Cemetery. 2. Jackson Square. .3. Garvier Street. 4. View from St Patrick'^ Cathedral 
^■»^^^^^7£\h^\^r Monument. 6. Robert E. Lee Monument 7. We^t End ft^omenade 



CITY OV NEW ORLEANS. 




EVV ORLEANS is the capital of Louisiana, and a port 
of entry, situated on the left bank of the Mississippi 
River, io8 miles from its mouth. It ranks next to 
New York in the value of its exports and foreign com- 
merce. Nearly all the streets running parallel with the 
Mississippi River, from the lower to the upper part of 
the city, are about 12 miles long; the streets running 
at right angles to these descend from the river bank to the 
swamps ; the drainage is by canals which open into Lake Pont- 
chartrain, which is on a level with the Gulf of Mexico. The 
city being built on ground lower than the high-water level, is 
protected from inundations by the levee or embankments, which 
extend on both banks of the river for several hundred miles. 
About half of its 40 square miles of territory is closely inhabited, 
while the rest is neariy all swamp. The city extends along the 
river on an inner and outer curve, giving it the shape of the 
letter S. The older portion, extending around the outer curve, 




LAFAYETTE S (^) U A R E , NEW ORLEANS. 

gave it the name of the " Crescent City." New Orieans is the great port of tran- 
shipment for a large portion of the crops of the southwestern States, and the 
produce of the vast region drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. It 

(73) 




COTTON EXCHANGE. KEW ORLEAX[ 



CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. 75 

commands 10,000 miles of steamboat navigation, and is the natural entrepot 
of one of the richest regions of the world. In 1861 the city had arrived at its 
greatest commercial prosperity ; in that year it received and handled 460,000 
hogsheads of sugar and 2,255,448 bales of cotton. Its commerce and general 
prosperity were geatly retarded by the War, and since that period by political 
agitation and severe visitations of yellow fever ; yet, notwithstanding these 
drawbacks, its imports average about $12,000,000 and its exports nearly $100,- 
000,000. The Custom-house is one of the largest buildings in America. In con- 
sequence of its natural advantages, geographical location, and the recent navi- 
gation improvements in the river, the commerce of New Orleans is destined 
to be greatly increased, and the probabilities are that it will eventually be one 
of the first cities in America. It is generally conceded that New Orleans is an 
unhealthy city to reside in ; its vital statistics, however, show plainly that it is 
not exceptionally so in comparison with other cities in the United States and 
throughout the world. Many sanitary improvements have been introduced 
since the yellow fever epidemic of 1878. It is seldom that the temperature is 
in the extreme, ranging from 50° to 85°, the general average being about 68°. 
New Orleans bears the imprc33 of three distinct civilizations in her society, 
her architecture, and her laws. It was settled in 1718 by the French ; in 1762 
it was transferred to Spain with Louisiana; and in 1800 retransferrcd to 
France, and sold in 1803, by Napoleon I., with a vast territory, for $15,000,000, 
to the United States. At this time the population was about 8,000, mostly 
French and Spanish, It was successfully defended in 181 5 by General Jack- 
son, afterward President, against the British. The city became an important 
centre of military operations during the War for the Union. Louisiana hav- 
ing seceded in i860, a Federal fleet blockaded the city. Farragut, with an 
expedition of gun-boats, forced the defences near the entrance to the river on 
April 24, 1862, The city was forced to surrender, and was then occupied by 
General Benjamin F. Butler, as military governor. 

Among the buildings of fine architectural appearance are the Roman Cath- 
olic cathedral, on Lafayette Square, facing the levee; the Mint, the Post-of^ce,. 
the City Hall, the Custom-house, and State House. The hotels, theatres, and 
public buildings are on a magnificent scale. There are numerous hospitals, 
infirmaries, and asylums, several colleges, and 145 churches. Besides the great 
river. New Orleans has railways connecting it with all parts of the country. 
The soil is full of water, so that no excavations can be made. The largest 
buildings have no cellars below the surface ; and in the cemeteries there are 
no graves, but the dead are placed in tombs, or " ovens," five or six tiers above 
ground. The remains are often collected and burned. 

There are numerous public parks, several canals, and 16 markets. The 
best streets are wide, bordered with trees, and are very attractive in appear- 
ance ; some of them paved and some of them shelled, all lined with princely 
residences set with gardens, where the palm and magnolia are in their glory, and 
the roses blossom in mid-winter. Canal Street, which is the great wide thor- 
oughfare, has many fine stores and elegant private residences. The continuation 



'jG PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

of Canal Street is a fine shell road to the lake, the shores of w hich contain an 
inexhaustible quantity of white shells. 

The manufactures, which are small in proportion to the commerce, consist 
of oil, syrup, soap, cotton-seed oil, sugar refineries, distilleries, and breweries. 
There are a lar"-e number of insurance companies, banking institutions, tow- 
boat companies, and custom-house warehouses. 

The city has a Mayor, and seven officers, known as administrators. The police 
are mounted, and under the control of the Governor of the State. The pub- 
lic schools, of which there are nearly lOO, are also under State control, the city 
providing for their support. Among the other educational institutions are 
the Mechanical and Agricultural College, the Dental College, the- Jesuit Col- 
lege, and the University of Louisiana. There are about 40 Catholic churches, 
and a large Catholic population, consi.'^tingof French, Irish, Italian, and Spanish. 

In 1820 the population of New Orleans had increased to 27,000; in i860, 
to 163,823 ; and consisted of Americans, French Creoles, Irish, Germans, 
Spaniards, etc. In 1870 it was 191,418; in 1880. 216,090; and in 1886, 
236,425. The expenditures for 1884 were $1,147,496. 




T H E MAIN BUILDING. 



The water is supplied from the river for household purposes, except drink- 
ing, f'T which rain-water only, kept in cisterns, is used. 

Before the mint was established in New Orleans, the coins used were Span- 
ish, tlie dollar being the Spanish milled dollar. There were several other coins, 
including the pistareen (20 cts.), and the picayune, the latter being equal to 
6'^ cts., was the smallest coin used. After the mint was established, and pre- 
vious to the Civil War, our nickel was the smallest coin in circulation, and 
many used to say that they did not want any " nasty dirty cents." 

To say the least, it is a wonderful city, and has a great future. It has 
some of the finest restaurants in the world. Hospitality is the rule and not 
the exception ; hearts appear to widen, nature expands under the influence of 
the genial southern sun, and a stranger cannot remain a stranger in New 
Orleans long. 

New Orleans has been known as the Paris of America, the home of refine- 
ment, wealth, and luxury, and the abode of pleasure. It is a most cosmopoli- 
tan city ; and its ways partake largely of the traditional habits of both Spanish 
and French towns. It is gay, yet sad. Its people are fond of idleness, yet 



CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. 



77 



build up and sustain a great commerce. It is an enigma. The streets in the 
French quarter are narrow. It may be Sunday morning, but trade is going 
on briskly. The names of streets and firms are all those of a foreign people. 
Here and there one encounters a word in Spanish or Italian. 

The great Cosmopolitan French Market, where one may buy almost any. 
thing that can be named, rambles along in several squares of low, densely 
populated sheds, with a labyrinth of narrow alleyways. It is quite the thing 
to resort here early on Sunday morning, and, taking a cup of excellent coffee 
from one of the many stands, mingle with the populace for an hour, and enter 
into the spirit. of their Sunday bargain-making. 

From the French market it is a pleasant walk along the broad levee, 
thronged at all times with people who have business upon the great marine 
highway which bisects the Union. Here are acres of cotton, of molasses in 
huge hogsheads, and of tobacco or general merchandise. The huge steamers 
of the curious pattern peculiar to Western rivers are ranged along the levee for 




UNITED STATES AND STATE EXHIBITS BUILDING. 

miles ; their blunt noses run diagonally up against the sloping shore ; long 
gang-planks are thrown out and double ranks of sable roustabouts go and come 
like ancs with their burdens, singing in time with their work. 

The beautiful cemeteries of New Orleans are well worth a visit. To the 
stranger, the long streets of tombs are somewhat depressing. 

The merchant will admire the beautiful structure of the Cotton Exchange. 
The club life of the city is a feature, and the restaurants, saloons, and billiard 
parlors, theatres and concert-halls, with their myriad lights, impart a Parisian- 
like effect to the streets in the evening. Canal Street is the great thorough- 
fare and fashionable promenade of the city. Beautiful buildings and beautiful 
broad walks, illuminated by the faces and figures of the most beautiful women 
in America, gay with showy equipages and brilliant with the displays of the 
great shops. Canal Street will be found to rival in beauty the thoroughfares of 
many of the cities of this or any other land, and its beauty is a matter of 
wonder and admiration to the visitor from the North and East. 



THE WORLD'S EXPOSITION. 
Fortunately for the World's Exposition, its resources, though not lavish, 
were abundant for all the purposes of providing ample space, securing necessary 



78 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

attractions, and promoting the completest success. The appropriation by the 
general Government of $1,300,000, the contribution of the citizens of New 
Orleans of §500,000, and the appropriation by the city of New Orleans and 
the State of Louisiana, each of §100,000, afforded an ample source for the pur- 
poses mentioned. The management of the Exposition had been benefited by 
the experience gained by others in conducting like undertakings. It did not 
•consider it politic or necessary to give to temporary structures the same 
degree of elaboration and detail that should be given to those that were intended 
for" permanence. So that, as an instance, the main building of the Worlds 
Exposition, while affording fifty per cent, more space than the main building of 
the Philadelphia Centennial, and being fully as pleasing in architectural design 
and appearance, affording equal facilities in every respect for position, inspec- 
tion, and display, did not cost one-fourth as much to erect. The same can 
be said of the other structures. 

The carnival pageants, which occurred about the middle of the Exposition 
period, were the most elaborate and brilliant of this world-wide famed festival. 




lJl<A\VlN(;-kO0M CAR — FROM NEW ORLEANS TO SAN FRANCISCO. 




CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. 

AN FRANCISCO is the most important city on the 
Pacific Coast of North America. It is the capital of San 
Francisco County, California. The city and county, which 
were consohdated in 1856, contain an area of 42 square 
miles. The city is situated at the north end of a peninsula 
20 miles long and, at this end, 6 miles wide, which sepa- 
rates the ocean from the Bay of San Francisco, and com- 
prises, in addition to the northern part of the peninsula, several 
islands, some of which are 24 miles out in the Pacific It is 
about 5 miles south of the Golden Gate, which is 3 miles wide 
and IS the outlet, leading west through the range of mountains 
on the coast, and connecting the bay with the Pacific Ocean. 
Table Hill, on the north of this strait, is 2,500 feet high. The 
city enjoys a monopoly of the commerce on the North Pacific 
Coast in consequence of its harbor, which is decidedly the finest 
on the western coast of North America. The bay extends 50 
miles in a direction slightly east of south, and is in some parts 




THE BALDWIN HOUSE. 
20 miles wide. The Guadaloupe River empties itself into the south end of the 
bay. At the north the bay communicates by a strait very much like the 

(79) 



So PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Golden Gate with San Pablo Bay, which is about 15 miles in diameter, which 
receives the waters of the two principal rivers of California, the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin. The climate is mild and healthy; the temperature in Janu- 
ary is 49^' F. : in July, sS'^; and averages about 56^^. The summer is exceed- 
ingly cool and delightful. About 50 ocean steamers run from this port regularly 
to Japan, Australia, China, Panama, Mexico, Victoria, and to domestic ports on 
the Pacific Ocean, besides many inland steamers which ply on the tributaries to 
the bay. About 5,000 sea-going vessels arrive in San Francisco annually. Four 
railroads, the Central Pacific, the North Pacific Coast, the California Pacific, 
and the San Francisco and North Pacific, terminate on the Bay of San P'ran- 
cisco, being connected with the city by steam-ferries, the Southern Pacific 
being the only railroad which terminates in the city. A part of the land upon 
which the city stands was quite hilly, but has been leveled. The soil is sandy 
and unproducti\'e. The connection of the Central Pacific Railroad with the 
Union Pacific Railroad, completed in 1870, makes San Francisco an important 
point as the commercial highway from Europe and the eastern United States 
to Asia. In 1776 a Spanish military post was established on the present site 
of the city. A mission of San I'ranciscan Friars was commenced in the same 
year by two Spanish monks for converting Indians. This mission flourished, 
and in 1825 had 1,800 Indians under its care, and possessed 76,000 cattle and 
97,COD sheep. In 1835 the property of the mission having 'been secularized, a 
village was lai'd out and called Yerba Buena. The name was changed to San 
Francisco in 1847 I '^^ this time the population was only 450. In 1848 the dis- 
covery of gold in California created an immense excitement, and people flocked 
there from all parts of the world. The growth of San Francisco from that 
time was marvellous. In three years the population had increased from 450 
to 25,000, and the city was then incorporated (1850). In 1849-51 the city was 
visited by several large fires which devastated the business portion. Slight 
earthquakes are frequent, but do little damage. In 1851-56 the criminal 
classes were so numerous and lawless, and the municipal government so corrupt, 
that the citizens, in order to protect themselves, organized vigilance committees 
which summarily dealt with a number of public criminals and awed others into 
subjection. Since that time the city has been more orderly. It was here that, 
in 1877-78, Dennis Kearney created so much excitement, and from which 
trouble was apprehended. San Francisco has probably the finest hotels in the 
world, among which is the Baldwin House, which, it is stated, cost $3,500,000 
in construction. It is one of the most magnificent buildings of the kind in the 
world. The Palace Hotel is said to be the largest, and for architectural 
beauty is rarely excelled. It cost $3,250,000 in land and construction. Botli 
these houses are first-class in all their appointments. The Cosmopolitan, th.e 
Occidental, and the Lick House are also first-class hotels. The custom of re- 
siding in hotels is very popular in San Francisco, not only for single men, but 
also for families; and some of the hotels have accommodations for 1,200 
guests. Several of the public buildings are fine specimens of architecture. 
Among these are the new City Hall, which cost $4,000,000; the Merchants' 



CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. 8i 

Exchange, the Mercantile Library building, the Bank of California, the new 
U. S. Branch Mint. The Custom-house and Post-office is a plain, substantial 
building. In the southern portion of the city, especially in Dupont and Stock- 
ton Streets, are a large number of fine, handsome, brick residences. The 
fashionable promenades, on which are the great retail stores, are Montgomery, 
Market, and Kearney Streets. On California Street can be found the principal 
banks and brokers' and insurance offices. In Front, Sansome, and Battery 
Streets can be found the principal wholesale houses. Many of the private resi- 
dences are built of wood, which in many instances are very handsome, and the 
grounds laid out with flowers and evergreens. The streets are wide, and cross 
each other at right angles ; there are no shade trees. The business portion, 
which is closely built up, is paved with Belgian blocks and cobble-stones. 
There are nearly lOO churches in the city, which is the residence of an Epis- 
copal bishop and a Roman Catholic archbishop. The most important church 
edifices are St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Patrick's Church (both Roman Catho- 
lic), the latter being the finest church edifice on the Pacific Slope ; Grace 
Church and Trinity Church (both Episcopal) are fine structures. The First 
Unitarian Church is considered one of the finest buildings in the city ; it has 
over lOO papers and periodicals ; i8 public libraries ; various charitable institu- 
tions and schools ; five colleges, three of which are literary and two medical ; 
an academy of sciences ; and a school of design. 

Of the population attracted by the discovery of gold to San Francisco, a 
great number are Irish, German, British, PVench, and Chinese. There are 
newspapers in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese. The 
Chinese have a church, Roman Catholic, with a Chinese priest educated at 
Rome; and a school. Among the manufactures are flour, woolen goods, iron, 
silk goods, carriages, iron castings, glass, soap, leather, cordage, pianos, furni- 
ture, billiard tables, wind-mills, willow-ware, sashes, doors, cigars, boots and 
shoes, etc. The Golden Gate Park, west of the city, contains 1,043 acres. It 
is the only public park, and is not yet completed. There are three or four 
public squares in the city, which are planted with trees and shrubs. ''China- 
town " is a great curiosity to strangers. It is here that the Chinamen are 
huddled together, and live as though in China. They have Chinese theatres, 
joss-houses, opium-cellars, and gambling-houses. 

The exports are chiefly wheat, barley, wool, quicksilver, hides, furs, flour, 
gunpowder, and copper-ore. The imports include sugar, coal, rice, coffee, tea, 
wines and spirits, iron, cotton, silk, and various manufactured goods. With 
the finest harbor on the coast, and a population mainly composed of enter- 
prising people from all parts of the world, it is not surprising that the city is 
distinguished by its great accumulation of capital, large financial institutions, 
and great mining operations. On January i, 1880, 889 vessels belonged to the 
port of entry, of 205,206 tons in aggregate. The exports, consisting of treas* 
ure and merchandise, amount to about $62,000,000 annually. Population : 
i860, 56,000; 1870, 149,000; 1880, 300,000; 1886, 390,000; including 25,000 
Chinese. Less than one-half are natives of the United States. 



CITY OF CHICAGO. 




HICAGO is the principal city of Illinois. It is situated on 
the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth 
of the Chicago River; on this site in 1803 a stockade fort 
"^ was built, and named Fort Dearborn ; the place was first 
settled in 1831 ; in 1832 it contained about a dozen fam- 
ilies, besides the officers and soldiers at Fort Dearborn. 
The town was organized by the election of a board of 
trustees, August 10, 1833. On September 26th, of the same year, 
a treaty was made for all their lands with the Pottawattomies, 7,000 
of the tribe being present, after which they were removed west of 
^^•^j^ the Mississippi River. The first charter of the city was passed by 
the Legislature March 4, 1837. 

Chicago is considered the most remarkable city in the world for 
its rapid growth ; when in 1831 the first white settlement was made, 
it seemed a very poor site on which to build a great city ; it con- 
sisted of muddy flats ; the harbors were constructed to a great ex- 
tent by human enterprise and ingenuity; the channel was dredged, the flats 
filled, and artificial structures erected to keep the waves of the lajce from over- 
flowing the city ; in addition to this the grade of the principal portion of the 
city was eventually raised from 6 to 10 feet, as the people of Chicago had 
suffered much from various kinds of fever and sickness, caused by the low, 
marshy situation ; it was found necessary to have a thorough system of sew- 
erage, which could only be had by raising the city. Immense hotels, large 
business structures, and blocks of heavy buildings were raised by jack-screws, 
worked by steam power, to the required level ; it was one of the most extra- 
ordinary and stupendous engineering experiments ever undertaken in this or 
any country, but it was finally accomplished. The city is now built upon a 
plain sufficiently elevated to prevent inundation, and possesses a splendid har- 
bor equal to the demands of its great commerce ; the river extends back from 
the lake nearly three-quarters of a mile, at which point two branches intersect 
it, one from the south and the other from the north ; the south branch of the 
river is connected by the Illinois and Michigan Canal (which was completed 
in 1848) with the Illinois River at La Salle, making a direct water communica- 
tion with the Mississippi. The canal is 96 miles in length, and was originally 
12 feet above the lake at its highest level; it is now S}4 feet below the lake; 
to accomplish this the city expended in 1866-70 no less than $3,250,000. The 
river channel was also deepened ; so that in place of flowing into the lake, its 
stream flows the other way, receiving a fine supply of water from the lake, 

(32) 



CITY OF CHICAGO. 



83 



which carries off the sewage of the city at the rate of a mile an hour, and adds 
increased faciHties for navigation. Magnificent lines of breakwater protect 
the harbor at the mouth of the river, and form large basins for vessels, one of 
which covers about 300 acres. The extent of the city along the lake side is 
about 8 miles, and its area is 35 square miles. The streets cross at right angles, 
and are about 
66 to 80 feet 
wide. The city 
is well laid out ; 
the principal 
avenues run- 
ning parallel 
with the lake. 

Numerous 
bridges, and 
two stone tun- 
nels under the 
river-bed c o n - 
nect the north, 
south, and west 
divisions. The 
tunnels cost 
the city about 
$1,000,000, and 
are the result of 
great engineer- 
ing skill ; the 
south division 
contains most 
of the business 
and principal 
buildings of the 
city. 

The adoption 
of high license 
in Chicago has 
increased the 
revenue obtain- 
ed by the city 

from saloons from $200,000 to $1,500,000 a year, and has reduced the num- 
ber of saloons from 3,777 to 3,432. The license charge is $500. 

Chicago has some veiy remarkable buildings, among which is the Chamber 
of Commerce, a very elaborate structure, beautifully decorated inside ; the 
new County Court-house and City Hall, which occupies a whole block, and cost 
$5,000,000 ; the United States Custom-house and Post-ofifice, which cost over 




THE PALMER HOUSE, 



84 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

$5,000,000, and occupies an entire block of 342 feet by 210 feet ; the Exposi- 
tion building is of iron and glass, and is a vast structure 800 by 200 feet ; its 
dome is 160 feet high and 60 feet in diameter. .Some of the public schools 
are capable of holding 1,000 children, and every child without distinction can 
be educated free, and have the advantages of the High-school, which teaches 
the classics and modern languages ; the Catholics have schools of their own, 
and there are numerous private academies. Connected with the University 
of Chicago is a law school, the Dearborn Astronomical Observatory, and a 
library of about 25,000 volumes ; this is a Baptist institution, and was estab- 
lished through the efforts of Stephen A. Douglas. There are six medical col- 
leges, one of which is open to women. Four theological seminaries, one each 

Baptist, Congregational, Lutheran, and Presbyterian ; several commercial 

colleges and female seminaries. St. Ignatius College is a very successful 
institution. The Public Library contains over 100,000 volumes ; the Academy 
of Sciences has a new museum and library. There are over 300 churches in 
the city, some of which are very fine structures. There are numerous public 
parks, the finest of which are Lincoln, Central, Douglas, and Humboldt ; 6 of 
the principal parks contain a total of 2,ooo acres ; they are connected by fine 
drives 250 feet wide and 30 miles long ; a part of the drive is on the shore 
of the lake, and the surroundings are very picturesque. 

Chicago is probably the greatest railroad centre in the world ; about 500 
trains enter and leave daily. Over 30 railroads make this a common centre. 
The vast commerce of the entire chain of northern lakes, with 3,000 miles of 
coast line, also centre in this great city. Immense quantities of iron and cop- 
per ore are brought from the shores of Lake Superior. Vessels pass from 
Chicago by way of the Welland Canal around Niagara to Montreal, and con- 
nect at that point with steamers for Europe. New York is reached by the 
Erie Canal. On the banks of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, about 20 miles 
from Chicago, are vast quarries of marble called Athens marble ; it is consid- 
ered the finest building material in the Union. This canal is of great import- 
ance, as it is convenient for the coal-fields of Illinois, and gives direct commu- 
nication with the Mississippi, its tributaries, and the Gulf of Mexico. 

In October, 1871, a terrible fire occurred, which raged two days and nights, 
burned 18,000 houses, extending over more than 2,000 acres, embracing nearly 
all the business portion of the city and a large number of private residences ; 
200 persons perished, and nearly 100,000 were rendered homeless. The prop- 
erty burned was estimated at §200,000,000 ; it included the court-house, cus- 
tom-house, post-office, newspaper offices, 10 theatres and halls, 41 churches, 
32 hotels, 3 railroad depots, 5 grain elevators, 8 school-houses, and of the 
banks there was only one left. The insurance recovered was about $40,000,000. 
This stupendous calamity awakened the sympathy of the civilized world. The 
city was entirely rebuilt in a style of great magnificence within two years. 
Over $7,000,000 were raised in this country and in Europe in aid of the 
sufferers. 

As a commercial centre Chicago ranks next to New York. It is the most 



CITY OF CHICAGO. 



85 



extensive lumber market in the world ; its trade in grain and flour is almost 
fabulous ; since 1854 it has been the largest grain depot in the world. Pork- 
packing is conducted on a very extensive scale ; beef in large quantities is 
killed, packed, and shipped by way of the lakes to Europe. The great cattle 
yards were opened in 1858 ; they occupy nearly 1,000 acres. There are over 
100 newspapers and periodicals, and it has become a great book publishing 
centre. Ship-building is conducted to a considerable extent. Among the 
manufactures are watches, leather and leather goods, cotton, agricultural im- 
plements, boots and shoes, iron, flour, high-wines, etc., etc. 

The water supply for the city comes from Lake Michigan, and is conducted 
in two brick tunnels, one 7 feet and the other 6 feet in diameter; these extend 
2 miles under the lake and meet in an immense inclosure, where the water 
descends into them through a grated cylinder ; one of these was completed 
in 1866, and the other in 1874. The cost of the tunnels under the lake was 
$1,500,000; the water works up to the present time cost $10,416,000. In 
addition to this the city has many artesian wells, which yield a large supply for 
the stock-yards and the West Side Park. 

The city has a multitude of benevolent and charitable institutions ; includ- 
ing several orphan asylums, dispensaries, homes for the aged, indigent, and 
friendless, etc., etc. The Young Men's Christian Association has been very 
active for the relief of the poor and destitute, and did good service at the 
time of the great fire ; as did also the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, which 
distributed the vast amount of money contributed for the sufferers. 

The population in 1835 was 1,000; 1840, 4,470; 1850, 28,260; i860, 
150,000; 1870,298,977; 1880,503,304; 1886,630,000. The expenditures for 
the year 1884 were $10,195,404, being $16.18 /rr capita. 



CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES HAVING A POPULATION 
OF 50,000 AND UPWARDS, CENSUS OF 1880. 



cities and towns. 


populat'n 


cities and towns. 


populat'n 


cities and towns. 


POPULAT'IT 


New York, N. Y 

Philadelphia, Pa 

Brooklyn, N. Y 

Chicago, III 

Boston, Mass 

St. Louis, Mo 

Baltimore, Md 

CiNciNN.ATi, 0.* 

San Francisco, Cal.. 

New Orleans, La 

Cleveland, O 


1,206,590 
846,984 
566,689 
503,304 
362,535 
350,522 
332,190 
255,708 
233,956 
216, 140 
160,142 
156,381 


Buffalo, N. Y 

Washington, D. C... 

Newark, N. J 

Louisville, Ky 

Jersey City, N. J. .. 

Detroit, Mich 

Milwaukee, Wis 

Providence, R. I 

Albany, N. Y 

Rochester, N. Y 

Allegheny, Pa 

Indianapolis, Ind 


155-137 
147,307 
136,400 
123,64s 
120,728 
116,342 
115,578 
104,850 
90,903 
89,363 
78,681 

75-074 


Richmond, Va 

New Haven, Conn.. 

Lowell, Mass 

Worcester, Mass... 

Troy, N. Y 

Kansas City, Mo 

Cambridge, Mass... 

Syracuse, N. Y 

Columbus, O 

Paterson, N. J 

Toledo, O 


63,803 
62,882 
59,485 
58,29s 

56,747 
55,813 
52,740 
51,791 
51,665 
50,887 
50,143 


Pittsburgh, Pa 







CITY OF DETROIT. 



'ETROIT, the chief city of Michigan, the oldest 
city by far in the west of the United States, and 
older than either Baltimore or Philadelphia on the 
seaboard, was founded by the French of Canada 
in 1670, as an outpost for the prosecution of the fur 
trade, on the right bank of the riv^er of its own name, 
about 18 miles from Lake Erie and 7 miles from Lake 
St. Clair. For more than a century and a half, however, the 
(dvantages of its position were rather prospective than actual. 
iie settlement of the adjacent wildernesses was so slowly carried 
into effect that Michigan, of which Detroit was the capital, contin- 
ued to be a subordinate territory from 1805 to 1837. The site is 
sufficiently elevated above the river to afford excellent facilities 
for drainage, which have been thoroughly improved. The river, 
which is the dividing line at this point between the United States 
and Canada, is half a mile wide and over 30 feet deep, forming 
the best harbor on the lakes. The city extends 6 or 7 miles along the bank 
of the river, and from 2 to 3 miles back from it. The river front is lined with ' 
warehouses, mills, foundries, grain elevators, railway stations, ship-yards, dry 
docks, etc., the signs of an enterprising and thriving community. Fort Wayne, 
a mile below, commands the channel. The site of the city was visited by the 
French early in the 17th century, but no permanent settlement w^as made by 
them until 1701. Sixty-two years later, in 1763, at the close of the war 
between England and France, it fell into the possession of the English. 
Immediately after this Pontiac, the great Ottawa chief, made a desperate but 
unsuccessful effort to expel the whites from all that region. In 1778 Detroit 
contained only 300 inhabitants, living for the most part in log huts. The 
British, in 1778, erected a fort, which, after the Americans gained possession^ 
became Fort Shelby. At the peace of 1783, Detroit became a part of the 
United States, but the Americans did not take possession until thirteen years 
later. The place was wholly destroyed by fire in 1805, and two years afterward 
the present city was laid out. In the war of 18 12 it was surrendered by Gen- 
eral Hull to the British, but recovered by the Americans after the battle of 
Lake Erie in 1813. It was incorporated as a village in 181 5, as a city in 1824. 
It was the seat of government of the Territory of Michigan from 1805 to 1837, 
and of the State of Michigan from the latter date till 1847. The streets are broad 
and well paved and lighted ; many of them lined with beautiful shade trees. The 
avenues arc from 100 to 120 feet wide. Many of the business structures are 
(86) 



CITV of DETROIT. • 87 

large, solid, and imposing, and there are many elegant and costly private resi- 
dences. The city has had a very rapid growth, the population increasing from 
770 in 1810, to 116,340 in 1880, and 133,269 in 1886. The principal park of 
Detroit is the " Grand Circus," and it is the centre from which the principal 
avenues radiate. It is semicircular, and divided by Woodward Avenue into 
two parts, each adorned with a fountain. The " Campus Martins " is a plot 
of ground 600 feet long and 250 feet wide, crossed by two avenues. Facing it 
is the City Hall, a fine structure of sandstone, 200 feet in length by 90 feet in 
width, which cost $600,000. In front of the City Hall is a monument to the 
soldiers of Michigan who fell in the War of the Rebellion ; and facing the 
Campus Martins on the north is an opera house, a large and fine building. 
The United States Custom-house and Post-ofifice, a large building of stone, is 
on Griswold Street. The largest church edifice is the Roman Catholic Cathe- 
dral, but there are several of other denominations which are fine specimens of 
architecture. The Roman Catholic Convent of the Sacred Heart is a large 
and handsome structure. The Michigan Central freight depot is 1,250 feet 
long and 102 feet wide — a single room, covered by a self-supporting roof of 
iron ; and near it stands a grain elevator with cupola, commanding a fine pros- 
pect. The House of Correction is also a very handsome building, erected at 
a cost of $300,000, with a capacity for 450 inmates. 

There are many lines of steamers with elegant boats running to different 
points on the lakes. Eight great lines of railroad centre here. The large 
foreign commerce of Detroit is almost exclusively with the adjoining British 
possessions. The exports mostly consist of wheat, oats, corn, hogs, cotton, 
bacon, lumber, lard, etc. The trade in lumber is simply immense. A very large 
trade is done in cattle. There are numerous foundries and blast-furnaces, 
copper-smelting works, locomotive and car works, safe factories, furniture 
establishments, iron bridge works, brick-yards, flour-mills, tanneries, breweries, 
distilleries, and tobacco and cigar factories. 

The city is supplied with water from the Detroit River, by works valued 
at nearly $1,250,000. The public school system is well organized. The 
Detroit Medical College was established in 1868, and the Homoeopathic Col- 
lege in 1 87 1. There is a fine public library, and 65 churches. The total 
appropriations for city expenditures for 1886 were $1,527,771, being $11.46 
per capita. 



CITY OF ST. LOUIS. 




j^T. LOUIS is the chief city and commercial metropolis of 
Missouri. It is a port of entry, and is situated on the 
west bank of the Mississippi River, i8o miles above the 
mouth of the Ohio, and about 1,200 miles above New 
Orleans, and 18 miles below the confluence of the Mis- 
souri. It is connected with East St. Louis, a city in 
Illinois, by a magnificent bridge of steel, which cost 
$10,000,000. The bridge v/as begun in 1869 and completed in 
1874. It is 2,225 f'ist long by 54 feet wide. The central span 
<^il^V^'~^ is the longest in the world, being 520 feet, and 60 feet above the 
water. The bridge was designed by Captain James B. Eads. 

On the present site of the city was established, in 1734, a 
trading-post with the Indians ; it was named after Louis XV. of 
France. In 1764 it was the depot of the Louisiana Indian Trad- 
ing Company. In 1768 it was taken, by a detachment of Span- 
ish troops. In 1804 it was purchased by the United States with 
the whole country west of the Mississippi, at which time its population was 
1,500, and its jxarly fur trade amounted to over $200,000. In 1820 its popu- 



«.' 




TH E CU U K 1-11 O U SE 



lation was less than 5,000. It was chartered as a city in 1822. Its first news- 
paper was started in 1 808, and its first bank in 1816. Cholera appeared in 
1S32 and again in 1849, from which the city suffered much. The first railroad 
(38) 



CITY OF ST, LOUIS. 



89 



commenced its business in 1853. A large portion of the town was destroyed 
by fire in 1849 > after this substantial buildings were erected from stone quar- 
ried from the bank of the river. St. Louis under a special act of the Legis- 
lature is exempt from county government, and exists entirely distinct as a 
municipality. St. Louis County adjoins the city. The latter is regularly built, 
and has fine streets which cross at right angles, and extends about 14 miles 
along the river. As a commercial and industrial centre it ranks among the 
most important cities of the Union. It is only exceeded by New York and 
Philadelphia in the number and capital employed in its manufactures. It is the 
centre of one of the finest agricultural districts in this country, for which it not 
only affords an outlet, but is also a centre of supply. The Mississippi, with its 
great tributaries, affords many thousands of miles of navigable water, while nearly 
thirty railroads and their numerous connections, place it in communication with 
all parts of the country. All these railroads, except one, centre in the same 
depot. In the older portions of the city near the river, some of the streets 
are narrow and crooked. 
The principal streets are 
Fourth Street, Grand Av- 
enue, Olive Street, Main 
Street, and Second Street. 
The principal retail stores 
are on Fourth Street, which 
is the grand promenade. 
The finest residences are on 
Grand Avenue, Lucas 
Place, Pine, Locust, and 
Olive Streets. There are 
two fine boulevards for driv- 
ing in the western part of 
the city. It contains nearly 
500 miles of paved streets 

and alleys. The total area of square miles covered by the city is 62. The 
numerous public parks, which are very beautiful, cover 2,500 acres. In addi- 
tion to these there are many fine public squares. The Fair Grounds contain 
halls of mechanical and industrial exhibits ; a zoological garden, claimed to be 
the most complete in the world, and an amphitheatre with seats for 40,000 
people. The annual fairs are held in October. 

St. Louis has two of the finest cemeteries in the country, beautifully laid 
out and adorned with trees and shrubbery. It has a vast amount of manufac- 
tures, including very extensive flour-mills, sugar refineries, tobacco, whiskey, 
hemp, bale rope and bagging, oils and chemicals, pork, beef, lard, and ham. 
Packing is done on a very extensive scale, and employs an immense capital, 
and only exceeded by the amount invested in the manufacture of iron. The 
best flour produced in the world is made in St. Louis, and is largely shipped 
to Europe ; the production is about 2,500,000 barrels annually. The number 




THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY. 



90 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



of hogs packed annually is about 600,000. The cotton trade amounts annually 
to about 500,000 bales. The machine-shops, linseed oil factories, provision 
packing-houses, and iron foundries are very extensive. The annual products 
of the factories are valued at nearly $275,000,000. The fur trade of America 

centres in St. Louis, 
and the traffic in agri- 
cultural produce is 
simply enormous, 
while in the manufac- 
ture of flour it stands 
unrivalled, and com- 
petes successfully with 
the markets of Eu- 
rope ; it is also cele- 
brated for its unsur- 
passable lager. 

Nearly 500 vessels 
belong to the port, 
with an aggregate ton- 
nage of nearly 200,000. 
There are 30 banks, 35 
insurance companies, 
a chamber of com- 
merce, a merchants' 
exchange, a mechanics' and manufacturers' exchange, a board of trade, a cotton 
exchange, and a mining exchange. The principal public buildings are the City 

Hall, the new 
Post-office, and 
Custom-hou se, 
which contains 
the United 
States Court 
Rooms, and cost 
about $5,000,- 
000. The Court- 
house occupies 
an entire square. 
The Great Ex- 
po s i t i o n and 
Music Hall, is a 
pro 




THE NEW POST-OFFICE 




CHAM I; 



C O M M !•: K C E 



building 



nounccd by all who have seen it to be far superior to anything of the kind in 
this country. Other buildings worthy of note are the Masonic Temple, the 
Columbia Life Insurance building, the Mercantile Librar>', with about 65,000 
volumes. About 170 churches, mostly of fine arcliitectural appearance, adorn 



CITY OF ST. LOUIS. 



the city. Among the more imposing structures are the Roman CathoHc Cathe- 
dral, Christ Church (Episcopal), and the First Presbyterian Church. The city 
contains some of the finest hotels in the country, among which are the 
Southern, the Lindell, the Laclede, and the old Planter's. A fire in 1877 
destroyed the Southern Hotel, which was one of the largest and finest in 
the city. It has been rebuilt, and now occupies twice the space it first 
covered. The charitable institutions are very numerous, including hospitals^ 
asylums, and homes. The Institution for the Blind, which is controlled by 
the State, has facilities for 200 pupils, and teaches many industries. The 
Convent of the Good Shepherd is for the reformation of fallen women. 
There are also the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, St. Luke's Hospital, the St. 
Louis Hospital, the Emigrants' Home, the Widows' and Infants' Asylum, the 




.t7 



SOUTHERN HOTEL, 



Insane Asylum. There are 108 public school buildings, occupied by over 
55,000 children during the day, and 6,000 pupils at night. The Washington 
University includes, in addition to the college proper, the Polytechnic Institute, 
the Marcy Institute for the education of women, the School of Fine Arts, 
the Manual Training School, and the Law School. The Concordia Institute 
(which is German Lutheran) includes a theological college. The Catholics 
have over 100 parochial, private, and convent schools, among which are the 
Academies of Loretto, the Visitation, and the Sacred Heart, the Ursuline 
Convent, and the St. Louis University. The latter is under the control of 
the Society of Jesus, and has a large and va-luable library and museum. 
Prominent among the other Catholic institutions is the College of the Chris- 
tian Brothers. There are several theatres and places of amusement, and a fine 
opera house. The assessed value of real and personal property is $2i2,ooo,oco. 
Population: in 1820, 4,590; i860, 151,780; 1870, 310,864; 1880, 350,522;. 
1886, 400,000. Yearly city expenditures, $8,329,221.85. 




CITY OF BALTIMORE. 



§0^ ALTIMORE is a magnificent city in Maryland. It is 
situated 200 miles from the Atlantic, and is considered 
one of the three great seaports of the East ; the bay is 
lar^re enough and of a sufficient depth to accommodate 
the largest ships, and the channels in the river have been 
dredged to a depth of 24 feet and a width of nearly 400 
feet. The city has many advantages, especially in loca- 
tion, as it is situated at the most northerly extremity of 
Jil i-Ii^'the Chesapeake Bay, into which numerous rivers flow after passing 
*^1 rSL through the fertile districts of Maryland and Virginia. The city 
was founded in 1729. In January, 1730, a small town was located 
north of Jones' Falls, and named Baltimore, in honor of Calvert, 
Lord Baltimore. At the same period William Fell, a ship-builder, 
settled at Fell's Point, and two years later another town was pro- 
jected and named after David Jones. The town was joined to Bal- 
timore in 1745, dropping its name. By successive unions these little 
settlements passed into Baltimore, and in 1752 the future city had 
about two dozen houses and 200 inhabitants. In 1767 Baltimore 
was made the county seat. In 1773 the first theatre, newspaper, and stage 
line to New York and Philadelphia were established. The city is divided into 
two nearly equal parts by " Jones' Falls," a rapid stream, which, though 
troublesome from its floods, and expensive from its bridges, supplies immense 
water-power, and an abundance of pure water for domestic use. In 1776 the 
Continental Congress met in Baltimore in quarters thus described by John 
Adams : " The congress sit in the last house at the west end of Market Street, 
on the south side of the street, in a long chamber, with two fire-places, two 
large closets, and two doors. The house belongs to a Quaker, who built it for 
a tavern." Though Maryland was originally a Roman Catholic colony, there 
came to Baltimore, after the Revolution, a number of enterprising Scotch- 
Protestants, whose energy and means were of great value to the 
In 1789 the course of Jones' Falls was changed, and the original bed 
in. In 1792 there was an accession to the population of many refugees 
from San Domingo. By 1796 Baltimore was made a city. Baltimore is de- 
fended by Fort McHenry. It was during an unsuccessful bombardment of this 
fort by the British fleet, in 18 14, that Francis Scott Key, an American prisoner 
on one of the English ships, composed the celebrated " Star-Spangled Banner." 
During the Civil War, a portion of the 6th Mass. and 7th Penn. regiments were 
mobbed while passing through the city, and in the contest several citizens and 
soldiers were killed. No more troops were sent through Baltimore until the 
city was put under military rule. Baltimore is on undulating ground, and it 
has more than 200 churches, three universities, a number of colleges. Among 
the commemorative structures which have gained for Baltimore the name of 
the " Monumental City," the most interesting is an elegant obelisk, erected in 
(92) 



Irish 
city, 
filled 



CITY OF BALTIMORE. 



93 



1815, to the memory of those who had fallen in defending the town against the 
British. The Roman Catholic Cathedral takes the lead among the ecclesiasti- 
cal edifices of Baltimore. It is a massive building of granite, being 190 feet 
long, 177 broad, and 127 high; and besides one of the largest organs in the 
United States, it contains two beautiful paintings, presented by Louis XVI. 
and Charles X. of France. 

Baltimore's water communications are of great importance ; the James 
River affords communication with Richmond, Petersburg, and Lynchburg, and 
the waters of the bay, with Norfolk ; by canal, with New York and Philadel- 
phia ; by the Potomac River, with Washington ; by canal from the latter place 
to Cumberland, the district in which the collieries of the State are located. 
Along these coasts are numerous thriving towns and many well-tilled farms, 
the latter sending to her docks at times over 100,000 bushels of grain a day. 
The city is much nearer to the interior of the country than most of the large 
cities on the Atlantic Coast. Her position at the head of the Chesapeake, en- 
ables her to convey freight by water, which is a greater distance, much cheaper 
than by other transportation. Her immediate vicinity to the coal regions en- 
ables steamers to get their supply of this article at less than half the price they 
could get it in New York or Boston. Steamers crossing the Atlantic can save 
nearly $2,000 in this way on a single trip, as they generally use from 800 to 
1,000 tons of coal. This probably explains why Baltimore is growing in favor 
as the great outlet of the West as well as of the interior, and as a distributing 
emporium of imports for the same localities. The vessels belonging to the 
port number nearly 2,000; tonnage, about 150,000. About 1,200 foreign ships, 
1 50 foreign ocean steamers, and 400 American ships, engaged in foreign trade, 
enter the port annually. There are lines to various parts of Europe. The city 
has 15 national banks, with an aggregate capital of nearly $12,000,000. There 
are also several private banks of a substantial character. It is one of the greatest 
flour markets in the world. The trade in oysters is enormous. About 12,000 
men are employed in packing and handling oysters. One house puts up over 
50,000 cans of raw oysters daily ; and there are nearly 50 large establishments 
exclusively engaged in packing. Another house puts up over 35,000 cans of 
cooked oysters daily. Nearly loo smaller concerns are engaged in opening 
oysters. After the oysters are all canned each year, the canning of fruits and 
vegetables — which is conducted very extensively — is commenced, of which 
over 25,000,000 cans are packed annually and sent to all parts of the civilized 
world, even to Hindostan, China, and Japan. In the coffee trade Baltimore is 
only second to New York, the sales amounting to nearly 500,000 bags annually ; 
the bulk of this is imported from Brazil. 

Baltimore is one of the great centres of the coal trade ; over 50,000 tons are 
exported annually. There are about 20 mills engaged in the manufacture of 
cotton (shirtings, cotton duck, and sheetings), and it has been estimated that 
80 per cent, of the cotton duck produced on the globe is made in these mills. 
Nearly 100,000 bales of raw cotton are exported annually. The cattle trade 
of Baltimore is conducted on a very extensive scale, as is also its lumber trade, 



94 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

about 40 large houses being engaged in the latter industry. The export trade 
in lumber is at the present time nearly five million feet annually, while about 
sixtv million feet of yellow pine are used annually for making packing-boxes. 
The' city is the nearest seaport to the oil regions, and has great facilities for 
refining petroleum. There are many large refineries. The export trade in oil 
is very large, amounting at times to 50,000,000 gallons annually. Baltimore 
is also prominent in exporting tobacco. The largest iron rolling mills in the 
United States are the Abbot Works. The city is surrounded by iron-ore beds. 
One railroad iron mill can turn out over 40,000 tons of finished rails annually. 
The industry in copper goods is very extensive, and are considered equal to 
any on the coast. A very extensive business is done in marine and stationary 
steam-engines, mill-gearing, water-wheels, pulleys and shafting, hollow ware, 
stones, iron work, agricultural implements, etc., etc. 

Baltimore has gained a great reputation for its preparation of lard, of which 
it exports great quantities. Large quantities of provisions from the interior 
are exported to foreign ports. The shoe and leather trade is of great import- 
ance, amounting to over $25,000,000 annually. Much of the leather is exported 
to England and Germany. There is also a large trade in sugar and molasses. 
Other industries are : ship-building, woolen goods, pottery, sugar refining, dis- 
tilling, tanning, saddlery, etc. About 10,000,000 bricks are made and sold an- 
nually. 

Baltimore possesses many charitable and beneficial institutions, among 
\vhich are the Maryland Institution for the Blind ; the Sheppard Asylum for 
the Insane, endowed with $1,000,000 by Moses Sheppard; the Peabody Insti- 
tution, which received over $1,000,000 from George Peabody; the Hopkins 
Hospital, endowed with $2,000,000 by Johns Hopkins. The Johns Hopkins 
University is magnificently endowed, giving opportunity for post-graduate 
study and advanced scientific research. There are about 125 public schools, 
with 100,000 average attendance. The finest building in Baltimore is the new 
City Hall, occupying an entire square of more than half an acre, 355 feet long, 
which cost $2,600,000. The Peabody Institute was incorporated in 1857. ^^ 
contains a library of 56,000 volumes, and halls for lectures, etc. The Custom- 
house is a fine edifice, 225 by 141 feet. On the four sides are colonnades, each 
column being a single block of Italian marble. The new Pratt Library seems 
to meet a "long-felt want." Thus far about 1,600 books a day have been 
taken out. It comprises 40,000 volumes, distributed from one central point 
and five branches. 

Baltimore is supplied with water from Lake Roland, with a capacity of 500,- 
000,000 gallons, and by the new system of water works, the grandest in the 
world, 200,000,000 gallons per day ; quantity used, 27,000,000 per day. The 
city can boast of the noblest forest park in the United States. " Druid Hill" 
is an old forest which was previously the private park of a fine estate. It con- 
tains over 600 acres, acquired by the city in i860. It adds much to the beauty 
of the city, and has many picturesque walks and drives. The population in 
1800, was 25,5 14; in 1830,80,620; in 1840, 102,513; in 1850, 169,547; in 1870, 



CITY OF LOUISVILLE. 



95 



267,354; in 1880,332,190; and in 1886, estimated at 425,000. Population 
(taken by police) May, 1882: white, 348,900; colored, 59,620, and 85,600 in 
the " Belt " around the city, the limits not having been extended since 1817. 
The annual city expenditure, in 1886, was $4,106,447. 




CITY OF LOUISVILLE. 

OUISVILLE, the chief city of Kentucky, is on the falls 
of the Ohio River, 130 miles below Cincinnati. It is 
handsomely built. The city is supplied with water 
from the Ohio, by artesian wells, one of which has 
a depth of 2,086 feet, a three-inch bore, and supplies 
330,000 gallons of water in 24 hours, which rises to a 
height of 170 feet. The Court-house cost $1,000,- 
000. There is a fine custom-house, jail, a marine asy- 
lum, 10 orphan asylums, hospitals, houses of refuge, 95 churches. 
Steamers pass over the rapids of the Ohio at high water, but at 
other times pass through a canal and locks. Population : in 1880, 
123,645, and in 1886 nearly 135,000. It was named Louisville 
(1780) in honor of Louis XVI. of France, whose troops were then 
assisting the Americans in the War of Independence, 

The falls or rapids of the Ohio have here a descent of 27 feet, 
affording a fine water-power. A number of railroads connect 
Louisville with the Northern and Southern railroad systems. A 
bridge crosses the river at the head of the falls, having 27 spans, and a total 
length of over 
5,000 feet, and 
cost over $2,- 
000,000. An 
important in- 
dustry is the 
s u gar-curing 
of hams, and 
pork-packing. 
This city is 
also one of 
the largest 
markets foi 
leaf-to bac co 
in the world ; 
cigars are 
made in great 

quantities. LOUISVILLE. 

The manufacture of whiskey is also an enormous business. Other important 
manufactures are cement, leather, furniture, iron pipe, etc. 





CITY OF CLEVELAND. 



LEVELAND, next to Cincinnati, is the most commer- 
f cial city in Ohio, and the capital of Cuyahoga County. 
It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the 
P mouth of the Cuyahoga River. The harbor is one of the 
best on the coast, and has been rendered still more available 
"y^^^^^ by extending a pier on either side into deeper water. By 
i c^^fl^i^^ means of this secure and commodious haven, Cleveland, 
with the aid of artificial works in both directions, has navi- 
gable communications with the Atlantic Ocean on the one hand, and 
with the head of Lake Superior on the other. It is celebrated for 
its ship-building, and is becoming rapidly more and more important 
for its manufactures. Magnificent works were erected at a cost 
of about $800,000, to supply the city with water from Lake Erie ; 
this is obtained by means of a tunnel under the lake. The city has 
grown to its present dimensions from a small town, which was set- 
tled in 1796 by General Moses Cleaveland, one of the directors of 
the Connecticut Land Company, after whom it was named. It is 

the chief port 
of the " West- 
ern Reserve." 
It is divided 
into two parts, 
connected 
with each 
other by 
bridges cross- 
ing the Cuya- 
hoga River, 
which here 
empties into 
the lake. One 
of the bridges 
is 2,000 feet 
in length, and 
built of solid masonry, costing $2,500,000. 

The principal public buildings are of stone, and present a fine appearance. 
The United States building contains the Custom-house, Post-office, and rooms 
for the Federal Courts. The County Court-house and City Hall occupy con- 
spicuous places, and are well adapted to their several uses. The House of 
Correction cost §170,000. The Cleveland Medical College is an imposing 





■ r f ' )! 






^'tfrftr;* mi 















C LEVELAND. 



CITY OF CLEVELAND. 



97 



structure. The Union Railway station is a massive structure of stone. The 
high-schools and several of the churches are very handsome structures. There 
is also a public library, and several other libraries. There are numerous hos- 
pitals, orphan asylums, and other charitable institutions, besides two convents, 
a Young Men's Christian Association, a seminary for women and a business 
college. The Catholic people have ii academies and schools. The public 
schools are numerous and well organized. The State Law College has a fine 
library and many students. The Cleveland Medical College was founded in 
1843, and the Homceopathic Medical College in 1849. 

Cleveland has over 100 churches, many large insurance companies, several 
fine markets, and 33 hotels. It is the centre of many great railroads, and the 
Ohio Canal connects Lake Erie at this point with the Ohio River. It was this 
canal, completed in 1834, that first gave a great impetus to the commerce of 
the city. Numerous steamers ply between Cleveland and all other ports on 
the lake. The manufacturing industries of the city are varied and extensive, 
and increasing with great rapidity. They embrace iron, coal, refined petro- 
leum, nail manufactories, copper smelting, sulphuric acid, wooden ware, agri- 
cultural implements, sewing-machines, railroad cars, marble, white lead, etc. 
The population was in 1830, 1,000 ; 1850, 17,034 ; 1870, 93,018 ; 1880, 159,404; 
1886, 227,000. 

The city is lighted by electric lights, which are elevated to a great height. 
There are many beautiful cemeteries. The finest part of the city is on a sandy 
bluff on the east side of the river, from 60 to 150 feet above the lake. The 
city is laid out mostly in squares, the principal streets being from 80 to 120 
feet wide, and one having a width of 132 feet. Shade trees are so abundant 
that the place is properly called the " Forest City." Euclid Avenue, lined 
with elegant private residences, each of which is surrounded with ample 
grounds, is acknowledged to be the handsomest street in the country. Superior 
Street, having a width of 132 feet, is occupied by the banks and the principal 
retail stores. Monumental Park, in the centre of the city, with an area of ten 
acres, as originally laid out, is now crossed by streets at right angles, and so 
divided into four smaller squares, beautifully shaded and carefully kept. In 
one of these squares is a handsome fountain, in another a pool and a cascade, 
and a statue of Commodore Perry, the hero of the battle of Lake Erie, erected 
in i860 at a cost of $8,000. West of the river is another finely shaded park 
called the " Circle," with a beautiful fountain in the centre. 

The total appropriation for city expenditures for 1886 was $1,697,698. 




CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS. 



m^^- 






@ 




p— --#)NDIANAP0LIS, the capital and largest city of Indiana, 
%T^:^ is built on the west fork of White River, near the centre 
.^ of the State, lOO miles northwest of Cincinnati. It is situ- 
" atcd in the vicinity of an extensive coal region. Its man- 
ufactures and commerce are very important and exten- 
sive. Thirteen lines of railroad connect the city with 
all parts of the country. It is a regularly built and beau- 
tiful city, with a handsome State-house, court-house, jail, 




and State asylums for the blind, deaf and dumb, and insane ; has a 
university, two female colleges, and eight banks. 

Indianapolis became the seat of government in 1820, and in 1824 
became the capital of the State. The city was incorporated in 
1836. The streets are broad, and run at right angles. Nine 
brido-es cross the river, three of which are for railroads. There are 
numerous street railroads, including a belt-line around the city. 
Seven parks, one of which contains over 100 acres, add much to 
the beauty of the city. 
Pork-packing is carried on extensively. There are a number of large flour- 
mills, grain elevators, iron rolling-mills, foundries, machine-shops, car works, 
sewing-machine shops, and factories for the manufacture of agricultural imple- 
ments, furniture, pianos, organs, carriages, cotton and woolen goods, etc., etc. 
There are nearly 50 incorporated manufacturing institutions, with a large 
aggregate capital. About go churches adorn the city ; also a Roman Catholic 
theological seminary, an art school, a city hospital, an academy of music, a State 
library with 25,000 volumes, and a free city library with about 20,000 vol- 
umes. The new State House cost $2,000,000. The public schools are mainly 
supported by the State school fund of $8,000,000. The Court-house is a 
splendid structure. Among the other fine buildings may be mentioned the 
Exposition Building, the Chamber of Commerce, the Union Depot, the Ma- 
sonic and Oddfellows' Halls, the United States Arsenal, and numerous fine, 
massive blocks of buildings. The best private residences are surrounded by 
fine lawns and gardens. This city was the home of the late Vice-President 
Hendricks. The contract for the State House was made under very favorable 
circumstances ten years ago, at $2,000,000, and drawn in such a way that no 
extras have been permitted ; it will, therefore, not exceed the original contract 
price. It would cost fully $3,000,000 if contracted for at the present time. 

Indiana has no mountains, and over two-thirds of its surface is level or 
undulating. It has but one port, Michigan City, on Lake Michigan, and no 
direct foreign commerce. Its internal trade is of vast extent, its rivers, canals, 
and railroads being numerous and of great importance. The population of 
Indianapolis in 1840 was 2,692 : in 1870, 48,244; in 1880, 76,200; and in 1886 
it is estimated to be 100,000. 
(98) 




CITY OF CINCINNATI. 

INCINNATI is the chief commercial city of Ohio ; it is 
situated on the north or right bank of the Ohio River, 
1 20 miles from Columbus, the capital of the State ; 458 
miles below Pittsburgh, where the Ohio is formed by the 
junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany Rivers, and 
500 miles above the junction of the Ohio and the Missis- 
sippi Rivers. It is 340 miles east of St. Louis, 280 miles 
southeast of Chicago, and 610 miles from Washington. On the 
opposite side of the Ohio, in Kentucky, are two cities — Covington, 
which is the most important, has a population of 28,542 ; and New- 
port, with a population of 18,412. Cincinnati, which is the county 
seat of Hamilton County, has communications by numerous steam 
ferries, besides two bridges, with these cities. The city occupies 
24 square miles, and extends along the river 10 miles, and is about 
3 miles wide. It has a fine, substantial appearance, and is noted 
for the architectural beauty of its public buildings. Its fine broad 
streets and avenues remind one of Philadelphia ; they are well paved, and 
in some instances lined with shade trees. The principal part of the city 
lies between Deer Creek on the east and Mill Creek on the west, which are 
nearly 3 miles apart where they flow into the Ohio. ^A few settlers from 
New Jersey first located on this site in 1789. In 1800 the population only 
amounted to 750 ; its development being greatly retarded by the Indians, who 
rendered navigation on the Ohio very dangerous. 

Its ecclesiastical, literary, and commercial edifices are as numerous as befits 
the acknowledged Queen of the West. The city occupies chiefly two terraces, 
which are elevated respectively 50 and 108 feet above the level of the river. 
The water of the Ohio has been lifted up into an immense reservoir, at an 
expense of about $1,800,000. A large suspension bridge, 100 feet above low 
water, connects the city with Covington, Ky. Its entire length is 2,252 feet ; 
the principal span is 1,057 feet ; this was designed by John A. Roebling, and 
cost nearly $2,000,000 ; it was completed in 1867. Another bridge connects 
the city with Newport, Ky. 

Cincinnati is the centre of a great network of railroads, and is connected 
with a vast region of territory by the Ohio and Mississippi and their connec- 
tions ; while the Miami Canal connects it with Lake Erie, and a branch con- 
nects the Miami with the Wabash and Erie Canal, which is the longest canal 
in the Union (374 miles) ; this canal extends from Toledo to Evansville, Ind., 
on the Ohio River. 

The city was incorporated in 18 14, and since that time has made steady 
progress. Thirteen companies use seven railroads, which enter the city ; two 
others have their terminus at Covington, on the other side of the river. 
Nearly 400 passenger and freight trains arrive and leave daily. There are 
four depots near the river in different parts of the city. Nearly twenty lines 

(99) 



loo PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

of street railroads cross the city in all directions. An incline steam-passenger 
railway affords communication with the top of the adjacent hills. Vineyards 
and gardens abound in the suburbs. 

Previous to and during the War the Slavery question created intense 
excitement. Social and vast commercial relations of the city with the South 
brought it in sympathy with the Slave States. Several attempts were made 
to establish an anti-slavery paper in the city, but without success, as it was 
always destroyed by a mob, who were sustained by prominent citizens ; and 




THIRD STREET. 

in 1862, when a Confederate force was expected to attack the city, it was found 
necessary to place it under martial law. Many of the leading families furnished 
men and money for the Southern cause ; but the great masses of the people, 
especially the Germans, were patriotic, and identified themselves with the North. 
In the suburbs of the city are many fine, costly residences, surrounded 
with beautiful lawns, laid out with shrubs and trees. The scenery in the 
vicinity of the city is very attractive ; there are numerous parks and 
public grounds. Among the public buildings are the United States Govern- 
ment building, containing the Custom-house, Post-office, Court-rooms, etc. 
The County Court-house cost nearly $500,000, and with the County Jail occu- 
pies an entire square. The City Hospital occupies a square, containing nearly 



CITY OF CINCINNATI. 



lOI 



4 acres ; the buildings and land are valued at $1,000,000. The Public Library 
cost about $700,000, which was raised by taxation. Pike's Opera House is a 
very imposing edifice, 134 by 170 feet. The Masonic Temple is 195 by 100 
feet, and 4 stories high. Mozart's Hall has seating accommodations for 3,000 
people. Longview Asylum for the Insane, situated outside of the city, is 612 
feet long; the property is valued at over $1,000,000. There are also St. 
Xavier's College, which is governed by the Jesuits ; Lane Theological Sem- 
inary (Presbyterian), organized in 1829, with an endowment of $200,000. The 
Catholics support over 100 parochial schools. There are in all 6 medical col- 




FOU RTH STREET. 

leges, 5 literary colleges, one college of dentistr}'-, several commercial colleges, 
a university, and a law school. In 1842 the Wesleyan College for women was 
founded. There are nearly 200 churches ; the finest of which is St. Peter's 
Cathedral (Catholic) ; it is 180 by 90 feet, with a fine stone spire 224 feet high. 
The Tyler Davidson Fountain is a fine work of art ; it cost $200,000, and was 
presented to the city in 1871. 

Wine is made in the neighborhood to a great extent. The city itself also 
is largely engaged in a variety of important manufactures, hundreds of steam- 
engines being employed in the different establishments. The manufactories in- 
clude iron-foundries, rolling-mills, lard, oil, and stearine factories ; and countless 



I02 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

works connected with flour, clothing, furniture, paper, printing, tobacco, soap, 
candles, hats, etc. The total value of manufactured goods in one year amounted 
to nearly $170,000,000. The Board of Trade has nearly 1,000 members. The 
Merchants* E.xchange and Chamber of Commerce has about 1,200 members. 
Six National banks have a capital of nearly $5,000,000, and 17 other banks 
nearly $3,000,000. An annual Industrial Exhibition has been held in Cincin- 
nati in the fall of each year since 1871 ; the buildings occupy 3^ acres of ground. 

A canal completed in 1872 around the falls of the Ohio, at Louisville, 
enables the largest steamboats on the Mississippi to reach Cincinnati. The 
imports in one year amounted to $223,237,157, and exports $186,209,646. By 
act of Congress in 1870, foreign merchandise may arrive in Cincinnati without 
appraisement or payment of duties at any port where it may first arrive. 

At one time Cincinnati was the great centre in the United States for the 
pork trade, but since 1863 Chicago has held first rank. At the present time 
Cincinnati has about 60 establishments for the slaughtering of swine and the 
packing of pork ; the yards for the reception of live hogs occupy about 60 acres. 
In one year 793,863 hogs, 142,851 cattle, and 274,027 sheep were received. 

The celebrated lager-beer of Cincinnati has gained a reputation, not only 
in the United States, but abroad. The malt liquors manufactured in one year 
amounted to nearly 6,000,000 barrels, which consumed about 1,500,000 bushels 
of malt, 1,250,000 pounds of hops, 700,000 pounds of rice, over 6,000,000 
bushels of coal, over 3,500,000 bushels of coke, and used up 60,000 tons of 
ice. Whiskey is made on a very extensive scale ; the returns of rectified 
spirits for one year amount to nearly 13,000,000 gallons. 

The tobacco and cigar trade is of great extent and value. In one year the 
sales of tobacco amounted to over 40,000 hogsheads ; and the number of 
cigars made in Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport, was over 100,000,000. 
Nearly 2,000,000 cigarettes were made in the same year. And the production 
of fine-cut (chewing) and plug tobacco was nearly 5,000,000 pounds ; while the 
smoking tobacco amounted to over 2,000,000 pounds. 

Fine candles are made in Cincinnati, and are largely disposed of in foreign 
countries ; the shipments for one year were nearly 250,000 boxes. The manu- 
facture of soap is very extensive ; the total shipments in one year amounted 
to over 366,000 boxes. It was here that soap made from cotton-seed oil was 
first manufactured. The manufacture of starch has gained for the city a great 
reputation ; the shipments for one year amounted to nearly 5,000,000 boxes ; 
it is sold not only in the United States, but in nearly all parts of the world, 
including Mexico and South America. Furniture forms an important part of 
the manufactures. The manufacture of boots and shoes is constantly increas- 
ing, and the jobbing trade in this line is very extensive ; the shipments in one 
year amounted to about 100,000 cases. 

Cincinnati is one of the great grain warehouses for the South ; the receipts 
for one year amounted to about 12,000,000 bushels. Boat-building, including 
steamboats and ferry-boats, gives employment to a large number of workmen. 

The population in 1820 was 9,602; in 1840,46,338; in 1850, 115,438; in 



CITY OF MILWAUKEE. 



103 



i860, 161,000; in 1870, 216,289; i" 1880, 255,708; in 1886, 275,000. The 
yearly expenditures of the city are $3,922,933, being $14.52/^7- capita. 



CITY OF MILWAUKEE. 









^ " '^~~''[^"TLWAUKEE is the most important city and port of 
entry of Wisconsin. It is situated on the western 
shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Mil- 
waukee River, which enters the lake from the north, 
and flows through the city. The Menomonee River 
joins the Milwaukee near its mouth. The bay is 
6 miles long by 3 miles wide. The city is 84 
miles north by west of Chicago, and 87 miles east 
of Madison, which is the capital of the State. The harbor is 
one of the best on the lakes, and has been much improved 
by the Government. The city is very handsome, and is built 





of yellow or cream- 
colored bricks 
made in the vicin- 
ity, and from which 
it has derived the 
name of the 
" Cream City of 
the Lakes." The 
streets are regular, 
the centre and 
most level parts of 
the city being de- 
voted to business. The residences crown a high bluff, and give the city a very 
picturesque appearance when viewed from the lake. Its first white settler was 
a Frenchman, whose name was Juneau, who located there in 1818, and engaged 
in the fur trade, and finally became Mayor of the city, which was incorporated 
in 1846. The city has a fine sewerage system, and is furnished by the lake 
with water. 

It is connected with all parts of the country by railroads. In 1870, Mil- 
waukee claimed the rank of fourth city in the Union in marine commerce. 



MILWAUKEE IN 1860. 



I04 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

This position it has since lost by the rapid and extraordinary development of 
other cities. Copper and iron mines within 50 miles of the city have done 
much towards making her a great manufacturing centre. 

Amono- the fine public buildings are the Post-office and Custom-house, 
which is built with marble, and in which are the United States Courts. The 
County Court-house was erected at a cost of more than $400,000. The 
receipts and shipments by rail and water are immense and of great value. 
The most important items of merchandise are wheat and flour. The immense 
agricultural products of the three great States of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Min- 
nesota are shipped from its port. Pork-packing is conducted on a very exten- 
sive scale, and the city is celebrated for its lager-beer, which finds a market 
in nearly all parts of the Union. About $4,000,000 is invested in this branch 
of industry. 

There arc vast iron and rolling mills, which employ nearly 3,000 men, and 
have a capital of nearly $5,000,000. There are six immense elevators, with a 
total capacity of nearly 6,000,000 bushels, one of which is claimed to be the 
largest in the Union, having a capacity of 1,500,000 bushels. One of the 
largest flour-mills has a daily capacity of 1,000 barrels. The leather factories 
are very extensive, the total capital being nearly $2,000,000. Among the 
goods manufactured are the following: agricultural implements, machinery, 
pig-iron, iron castings, steam-boilers, car wheels, woolen cloth, carriages, 
wagons, barrels, furniture, sashes and blinds, boots and shoes, tobacco and 
cigars, white lead, paper, soap and candles, iron castings, leather, malt, high- 
wines, brooms, etc. 

It has a large number of educational institutions, comprising acade- 
mies, public and private schools, and an Industrial School, several orphan 
asylums and hospitals, a College for Women, a monastery and Franciscan Col- 
lege, a public art gallery, a public library and a German library and public 
museum. There are 75 churches, 2 cathedrals (i Episcopal and i Catholic), 
about 20 banks, several insurance companies and theatres. The Government 
asylum for invalid soldiers is situated two or three miles from the city. 

The population, which largely consists of Germans and other national- 
ities, was, in i860, 45,000; in 1870, 71,000; in 1880, 115,570; and in 1886, 
158,509. City expenditures in 1884, $1,438,976; per capita, $9.07. The sur- 
rounding country is of great fertility, and as a manufacturing centre it has 
great advantages. 



CITY OF PITTSBURGH. 




^.ITTSBURGH is the second city in population and im- 
portance in Pennsylvania, a port of entry, and the 
county seat of, Allegheny County. It is situated at 
the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany Riv- 
ers, where they form the Ohio, which at this point 
is a quarter of a mile wide. The city is 356 miles from 
Philadelphia, 245 miles from Harrisburgh, which is the 
capital of the State, and 227 miles from Washington. 
The distance from New Orleans by the river is 2.040 miles. Some 
of the richest deposits of coal and iron in America are to be found 
in the vicinity. The city has nearly 2CO iron establishments, 
about 75 iron foundries, 50 iron and steel works, and over 600 
furnaces. There are vast machine-shops ; the manufacture of 
steam boilers, engines, etc., is very extensive. There are about 
56 glass manufacturing establishmoiits, the products of which are 
about $12,000,000 annually. The trade in crude and refined oil 
is enormous ; nearly 3,000,000 barrels of crude oil are received 
annually, and about 2,500,000 barrels of refined oil shipped. Large quantities 



=Hflr=^S,=rie-15>'- 



jT» -fetK" . ^~ 'r~ — 







DEPOT. 



of coke are purchased, averaging more than 1,000,000 tons a year. The n'on 
manufactures amount annually to about $50,000,000; the total amount of pig 
metal consumed is about 7,000,000 tons annually, being nearly one-quarter of 

(105) 



io6 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



the total produced in the Union. There are large copper-smelting works, 22 
rollinn--mills, numerous cotton-mills, and white lead factories. The best quali- 
ties of English steel are surpassed by several large steel works, seven of which 
produce about 35,000 tons annually. The products of several copper manu- 
facturing establishments amount to $4,000,000 annually. Vast quantities of 
coal are produced in nearly 200 collieries in the neighborhood of the city. 

Pittsburgh is the great manufacturing city of America. The immense 
foundries and factories fill the air with smoke, and hence it has derived the 
names of " the Smoky City," and " the Iron City." It has often been com- 
pared to Birmingham, England. The first glass manufactured in Pittsburgh 

was in 1796. The first at- 
tempt at making steel was 
in 1828, and for several years 
only the lowest grade was 
produced. The manufacture 
of cast steel for edge-tools was 
commenced in i860. The 
first rolling-mill was built in 
18 1 2, and the first iron foundry 
in 1804; from the latter can- 
non were cast and supplied 
for the fleet on Lake Erie 
and for the defence of New 
Orleans. 

Pittsburgh occupies the 
site of the old French Fort 
Duquesne. In 1754 a por- 
tion of its present territory 
was occupied by the English, 
and a stockade fort was built 
After many struggles with the French and 
General Braddock was defeated, it was 




THE COURT-HOUSE 



at the confluence of the rivers. 
Indians, in which the British 
finally taken by General Forbes in 1758, and a permanent foothold estab- 
lished. The place became a permanent trading-post in 1759. A new fort 
was eventually erected, and named Fort Pitt, in honor of William Pitt, then 
Prime Minister of England, the name changing finally to Pittsburgh. In 1774 
the place was surveyed and laid out by descendants of William Penn. It was 
incorporated as a city in 1816. At that time its limits were confined to a 
peninsula between the rivers ; it now extends over the adjoining hills, and 
seven or eight miles up both rivers. In 1845 it was nearly destroyed by fire. 
Its appearance is that of a solid and substantial city. The eastern part is 
devoted to fine residences. Most of the streets are paved. Besides its vast 
manufacturing interests, Pittsburgh has a great traffic over the three rivers, 
which gives it an outlet to the Mississippi River, its tributaries, and the 
gulf coast, while canals connect it with Philadelphia, and, by way of Cleveland, 
with the lakes. It is a port of delivery in the New Orleans district. 



CITY OF PITTSBURGH. 107 

Among the principal railroads are the Pennsylvania, the Alleghany Valley, 
and the Pittsburgh, Washington, and Baltimore, which connect Pittsburgh 
with nearly every part of Pennsylvania and the East. The Pittsburgh, Fort 
Wayne, and Chicago Railroad and connecting lines give communication to the 
West and Northwest, while the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Rail- 
road connects the South and Southwest. 

The public buildings include a fine Court-house, the Western State Peni- 
tentiary, the United States Arsenal, etc. The city has very efficient police 
and fire departments. 

There are 50 banks and a large number of insurance companies ; 75 schools, 
including a high-school. Among the colleges are the Western University of 
Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Female College (Methodist). There are over 
40 newspapers, of which 10 are dailies; and one hundred and twenty churches. 
Among the ecclesiastical buildings is a fine large Roman Catholic Cathedral. 
The rivers are spanned by numerous fine bridges. 

Pittsburgh has rapidly increased in population and manufactures. The 
majority of the population is of foreign birth ; mostly Irish, German, and Eng- 
lish. The population in 1788 was 480; in 1800, 1,560; in 1840, 21,000; in 
i860, 79,000; in 1870, 121,799; ^^ 1880, 156,389 (the annexation of adjoining 
boroughs caused much of this increase); in 1886, 175,000. The city of Alle- 
ghany, with its- population of 85,000 in 1886, is on the other side of the river, 
and as it is in fact a portion of Pittsburgh, except in its municipal govern- 
ment, it should be added to these figures, making the total population of Pitts- 
burgh in 1886, 260,000. 

Seven bridges span the Alleghany River, and not only connect the two 
cities, but are practically continuous streets traversed by horse-cars, as in cities 
where no rivers exist. Five bridges span the Monongahela, and give an out- 
let to the suburbs of Pittsburgh in that direction. Large steamboats run on 
the Ohio from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati and many other points, and great 
facilities are afforded for the reception of mineral oil, iron, coal, lumber, 
etc., etc., by the Monongahela and Alleghany Rivers. Over 200 large steam- 
ers belong to the port, and 600 or 700 barges, with a total tonnage of nearly 
200,000. 

The figures showing the production of pig-iron indicate that the Southern 
States are forging to the front, although Pennsylvania still holds an easy 
lead, having produced last year 2,445,496 tons of the entire 4,529,869 tons 
produced in this country. Ohio comes next in the list of iron-producing States 
with 553,963 tons ; Illinois third with 327,977 tons ; and Alabama fourth with 
227,438 tons. The next highest producing States are Virginia, Tennessee, 
New York, and Michigan, in the order named. While recognizing that the 
South is making rapid advances, Pennsylvania, with its abundant coal and 
its newly utilized store of natural gas, is sure, however, to be the great pig- 
iron centre for an indefinite period. The fuel and ore anu the market are 
so conveniently near each other in the Keystone State that no probable com- 
petitors are seriously to be feared. 




CITY OF ST. PAUL. 

PAUL is the capital of Minnesota. It is a thriving 
commercial city and port of entry, situated on both 
banks of the Mississippi River, 9 miles east of Minneapo- 
lis, 400 miles northwest of Chicago, 2,080 miles from New 
Orleans, and 9 miles from the Falls of St. Anthony. Excel- 
lent springs of water abound in the hills near the city. It 
is the head of navigation for the large steamboats of the 
Lower Mississippi and its tributaries, and is 800 feet above the 
Gulf of Mexico. The city of St. Paul, standing at the navigable 
head of what the Indians fitly called, in their musical and ex- 
pressive tongue, the " Great River," has been fortunate in many 
things. Above them all, it is supremely fortunate in situation. 
A visitor needs only to go to the summit of either of the four 
principal bluffs upon which the city lies, and beyond which it is 
spreading itself so rapidly, to see the secret of that spell which 
its scenery and distant outlook communicate. Established in 
the midst of a territory dominated by prairies, it looks down 
upon a vast and beautiful landscape in a way that suggests the supremacy and 
lordliness of Rome. Its vistas are various from these lofty coignes of vantage, 

and each is a 

r -f ■'- — ' '~ ^ separate and 

i nd ividual 
picture. In 
I 846 the 
white people 
living on this 
site consist- 
ed of ten per- 
sons. In 1 841 
a chapel was 
dedicated 
here to St. 
Paul by a 
Jesuit m i s- 
sionary, and 
from this it 
derived i t s 
name. The principal railroads arc the Northern Pacific; St. Paul, Minneap- 
olis, and Manitoba : Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul ; Chicago, Burlington, 
and Northern ; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha; St. Paul and Du- 
luth; St. Paul and Northern Pacific; Wisconsin Central; Minneapolis and St. 
Louis; Chicago and Northwestern; Minnesota and Northwestern. 
(108) 



I 



P^ 








^^^ 



ST. PAUL, 



CITY OF ST. PAUL. 109 

The Custom-house and Post-office is a fine granite structure, which cost 
$600,000. The State capitol was erected at a cost of $374,000. St. Paul has 
a fine court-house, several hotels and theatres, public libraries, with nearly 
50,000 volumes, a number of daily and weekly newspapers, several of which 
are in the Swedish and German languages. It has a State Historical Society, 
an Academy of Natural Sciences, a State Reform School, various fine public 
schools, orphan asylums, Catholic parochial schools, a commercial and busi- 
ness college, a Home for the Friendless, and Magdalen reformatories, about 
50 churches, and a fine cathedral. The city has very efficient fire and police 
departments, street railways, a Mayor and Council. It is connected with 
West St. Paul by two bridges across the Mississippi River. The boundaries 
of the city include West St. Paul since 1874. There are quarries in the vicin- 
ity from which limestone is taken for building purposes. Its water supply is 
derived from Lake Phalen, which is about three miles from the city. The 
public park, which is very beautiful, is on the shore of Lake Como, and con- 
tains nearly 300 acres. It has several grain elevators, numerous banks and 
insurance companies. The shipments of wheat amount to about 2,000,000 
bushels annually, and flour 250,000 barrels. The manufactures consist of 
agricultural implements, machinery, furniture, ale and beer, carriages, boots 
and shoes, lumber, sash and blinds, doors, and blank books. 

Six of the National banks have a capital of $6,350,000. It is the centre 
of a large growing trade in flour, lumber, furs, machinery, etc., and has a very 
extensive wholesale trade. The growth of the city, like its twin sister, Min- 
neapolis, has been very rapid. The banking capital of St. Paul exceeds that 
of all the rest of the State put together. 

As a place of residence St. Paul is delightfully situated, and on a clear, 
bright day in spring, the view from the bridges which span the river is sur- 
passingly beautiful. Up the river as far as the eye can reach, are green banks, 
with hills and plateaus crowned with fine residences and comfortable homes. 
The atmosphere of St. Paul is dry and pure, and remarkably invigorating, 
especially for those in poor health, or suffering from some pulmonary com- 
plaint. Though the thermometer shows a greater degree of cold in winter 
than is experienced in the New England or Atlantic States, yet it is not nearly 
as perceptible as in other sections where the "raw," damp days of winter pene- 
trate through the thickest clothing. The average mean temperature for the 
nine years, including 1883, in the city was 19° Fahrenheit for the winter 
months ; for the summer months, 69° 80' ; and for the spring and fall months, 
40° 30'' and 45° 70' respectively. 

The report of the jobbing trade for 1884, places the amount of business 
done at $74,829,700. Notwithstanding dull times and financial depression, 
St. Paul has increased during the past year her output of manufactured articles 
by nearly $3,000,000, an increase for the year of twelve and one-half per cent. 

Population: in i860, 10,000; in 1870, 20,000; in 1880, 41,000; and in 
1886, 111,397 — the latter figures are according to the State census. The 
yearly expenditures are $1,123,185. 



CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS. 







^"'■M^^ 



?,^"^INNEAPOLIS is a city in Southeastern Minnesota, on 
the Mississippi River, situated at the Falls of St. 
Anthony, nine miles west of St. Paul. The sur- 
rounding country is noted for its picturesque 
beauty. The city is built on a fine broad plateau, 
seemingly specially designed by nature for a me- 
tropolis. The river makes a fall or descent of 50 
feet within a mile, has a perpendicular descent of 
18 feet, and has I35,cxx) horse-power at low- water mark. It is 
crossed by a fine suspension bridge built in 1876, and three 
other bridges. There are four fine lakes in the vicinity. Im- 
mense manufacturing establishments are conducted by mean* 
of water power from the river. The value of the lumber sawed 
in one year amounted to $3,000,000, and the flour made in one 
year amounted to nearly $8,000,000. The wholesale grocery 
business amounts to nearly $6,000,000 a year. An immense 
amount of grain is milled. Among the other important manu- 
factures are iron, machinery, water-wheels, engines and boilers, 
agricultural implements, cotton and woolen goods, furniture, barrels, boots 
and shoes, paper, linseed oil, beer, sashes, doors, and blinds. Pork-packing is 
conducted on a very extensive scale ; and there are numerous saw-mills. The 
wholesale trade is very important, and is constantly increasing. Minneapolis 
is regularly laid out with streets and avenues from 60 to lOO feet wide. The 
streets cross at right angles, and are shaded with fine trees. The city is orna- 
mented by a series of beautiful parks, boulevards, and parkways, laid out and 
improved at an enormous expense. It is well sewered, and has a fine fire 
department and police force. Minneapolis is the great railroad centre of the 
Northwest. All the roads of the Northwest, in fact, touch Minneapolis. It 
has a line of steamers to St. Cloud. 

Among the public buildings are a court-house, a city hall erected in 1873, 
an academy of music, and an opera-house. There are 70 churches. The 
Athcnaum has a library of 15,000 volumes. Minneapolis is the seat of the 
University of Minnesota (open to both sexes), organized in 1868, and having 
a library of 18,000 volumes ; and the Augsburg Theological Seminary, estab- 
lished by the Scandinavians of the Northwest, with a hbrary of 1,800 vol- 
umes; also Hamline University (Methodist). It has numerous newspapers. 
The Falls of Minnehaha are three miles distant. Considerable interest attaches 
to this cascade, it being the scene of a legendary romance wrought into the 
story of Longfellow's poem of " Hiawatha." The Minnehaha River flows over 
a limestone cliff, making a sudden descent of 60 feet, and the story runs that 
Minnehaha, an Indian maiden crossed in love, here took the fatal leap. Min- 
nehaha, in Dakota language, signifies laughing water 
(uc) 



CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS. 



Ill 



The twin cities are at once rivals and neighbors, and may at some future 
period be consolidated into one metropolis. The census of Minnesota has 
just been taken ; according to it St. Paul has grown from a population of 3 in 
1838, to 111,397 in 1885; and Minneapolis from 45 in 1845, to 129,200 in 
1885. According to the mercantile agency report of R. G. Dun & Co., there 
are in Minneapolis 3,511 business houses, with an aggregate pecuniary respon- 
sibility of $53,138,000 ; while in St. Paul there are 2,601 houses with responsi- 
bility of $36,847,600. Total for the two cities, $89,985,600. 

During the past three years there has been expended in new buildings in 
these two cities $52,300,000, in addition to a large sum in public improve- 
ments ; and it may be safely afifirmed that so great a sum thus expended in 
London, Paris, or New York, in so short a time, would attract the admiration 
of the world. Yet the palatial hotels, massive business blocks, huge flouring- 
mills and elegant residences built with this money, stand on the wooded bluffs 
of the Mississippi, and the world cannot keep up with the facts. The paid-up 
capital and surplus of the National and State banks of these two cities together, 
are $2,225,000 in excess of those of New Orleans. 

Minneapolis alone handled 10,000,000 more bushels of wheat this year than 
Chicago. The Pillsbury A mill manufactured in one week last fall 40,050 barrels 
of flour, on two separate days turning out 7,000 barrels ; while the grist of the 
Pillsbury B is 2,000 barrels daily. During the crop-year just closed those two 
mills made 1,730,000 barrels of flour, while the Washburn mills made 1,318,939 
barrels ; and there are, besides these mammoth mills, twenty-eight others in 
these cities, with a total daily capacity of 36,500 barrels. The amount of other 
manufactures in Minneapolis last year exceeded $26,000,000. Indeed, this is 
the natural home for manufactures of all kinds, there being no other locality 
in the West with its advantages. The climate is mild and pleasant, and to 
those who desire to get rich, we would say, ** Go West, young man," but by 
all means go to one of the twin cities, as they have had an unparalleled growth, 
and the indications are will continue to grow as rapidly as heretofore. 




112 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



CITY OF PROVIDENCE. 

Providence, one of the two capitals (Providence and Newport) of Rhode 
Island, and the principal port of entry and county-seat of Providence County, 
is situated at the head of navigation on the Providence River, which is at the 
head of Narragansett Bay, i6o miles from New York, 44 from Boston, and 33 
from the ocean. The harbor is spacious, and has depth for the largest ships. 
The place was settled by a colony of refugees from Massachusetts under 
Roger Williams in 1636, who established there the oldest Baptist church in 
America in 1638. It was incorporated as a town in 1649. In 1776 the 

population was only 4,35 5, 
notwithstanding it had 
been settled 140 years. It 
was incorporated as a city 
in 1832. It is now the 
second city in New Eng- 
land in population, wealth, 
and manufacturing inter- 
ests, covering nearly 15 
square miles on both sides 
of the river, which above 
the bridges expands into 
a cove a mile in circuit, on 
the banks of which is a 
handsome park, shaded 
with elms. It contains 
many beautiful residences, 
surrounded with fine lawns 
and gardens. Its com- 
merce is very extensive, 
and the city abounds in 
manufactures and wealth. 
Among the manufac- 
tures which are produced 
on an extensive scale are 
cotton and woolen goods, tools, fire-arms, sewing-machines, iron-ware, gold 
and silver ware, jewelry, chemicals, dyestuffs, toilet and laundry soaps, alarm 
tills. There are also several bleaching and calendering establishments. The 
iron manufactures include steam-engines and boilers, butt-hinges, screws, 
locomotives, iron castings, etc. The manufacture of jewelry, however, is con- 
sidered the most extensive industry in Providence, there being nearly 200 
factories of this kind. The Household Sewing-Machine Company, purchasers 
of the property of the Providence Tool Company, employs nearly 2,000 men 
in manufacturing sewing-machines. Fine tools are manufactured by the Brown 
and Sharpc Manufacturing Company. Small wares and notions are made by the 




FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. 



CITY OF MANCHESTER. 113 

Fletcher Manufacturing Company. Solid silverware is manufactured by the 
Gorham Company on an extensive scale. There is also the Providence Steam 
Engine Company, the Allen Fire Supply Company, the Barstow Stove Com- 
pany, the Rhode Island Locomotive Works, the Corliss Steam-Engine Works, 
Spicer & Peckham Stove Works. There are 6 cotton and woolen mills ; it is 
also the headquarters of 100 cotton factories and 60 woolen mills. 

The total value of the manufactures is about $65,000,000 annually; total 
imports about $150,000. The exports, which are unimportant, are quoted at 
only $23,000. This is probably accounted for from the fact that most of the 
vessels are engaged in the coast trade. The number of vessels belonging to 
the port is 126, of 32,000 tons, while nearly 1,000 engaged in the coast trade 
enter the port every year. 

There are several lines of steamboats, some of which connect with New 
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, and Charleston. The coasting trade 
is very extensive. Railroads radiate in all directions. There are about 55 
banks, 25 insurance companies, 80 churches, 4 daily papers, and 80 public 
schools. Among the principal institutions are Brown University, an Athe- 
naeum with a library of about 50,000 volumes, a College of the Society of 
Friends, a Roman Catholic Institute, Franklin Lyceum, hospitals and asylums. 
The city is governed by a Mayor, with one Alderman and four Councilmen 
from each Ward. Its population in 1875 was 100,675 ; in 1880, 104,857 ; and in 
1885, 118,070. Yearly expenditures, $2,205,000, making /^r capita about $18. 



CITY OF MANCHESTER. 

Manchester is the most populous city in New Hampshire. It is situated 
on the Merrimac River at the Falls of Amoskeag, 59 miles north of Boston, 
and 18 miles south of Concord, the capital of the State. Manchester was 
originally settled in 1722 by Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, and was at first called 
Derryfield, and incorporated under this name in 175 1. The name was 
changed in 1810 to Manchester, and the city was incorporated in 1846. Its 
manufactures of woolen and cotton goods are of vast proportions. The great 
mills grind on day after day, and during the evening and at noon thousands 
of hard-working people can be seen at the post-of^ce and on the streets. 
The falls of 54 feet afford water-power through canals, which is the foundation 
of the great manufactures, which consist of cotton and woolen goods, 
machinery, paper, steam-engines, locomotives, hardware, carriages, boots and 
shoes, soap, tools, starch, etc. The total capital invested in manufactures has 
been estimated at $12,000,000 to $15,000,000. Among the great corporations 
may be mentioned the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, the Stark Mills, 
the Manchester Mills, and the Langdon Mills. The principal public buildings 
are the Court-house, State Reform School, Catholic Convent, Library, etc. 
The city contains 9 banks, about 20 churches, and 50 schools. Its streets are 
well shaded with elms. It is the terminus of several railroads. Population in 



114 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

i860, 20,000; 1870, 23,536; 1880, 32,000, and in 1886, 40,000. The other 
cities of New Hampshire are Concord, the capital (population, 17,000), Nashua 
(14,000), Dover (11,000), Portsmouth (11,000), and Keene (7,000). 



CITY OF WORCESTER. 

Worcester is the semi-county-seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts. 
It is situated on the Boston & Albany Railroad, 44 miles from Boston, in a 
valley surrounded by beautiful hills. It is the centre of a fine agricultural 
district. The building sites in and around Worcester are delightful, and 
many of the residences are very handsome. The streets are broad and well 
shaded. The city is famous for its political and philanthropical conventions. 
The town was incorporated in 1722, and the city in 1848. It was from the 
steps of the Old South Church (still on the Common) that the Declaration of 
Independence was first read in Massachusetts. Among the public buildings 
are the County Court-house, the Union Depot (a massive structure), and the 
high-school building. The principal institutions are the City Hospital, the 
Orphans' Home, the Homes for Aged Men and Women, the American Anti- 
quarian Society with a library of over 50,000 volumes and a valuable cabinet, 
the State Lunatic Asylum, the State Normal School, the College of the Holy 
Cross, which is the principal Catholic college in New England; the Military 
Academy, and the Free Institute of Industrial Science. The high, grammar, 
intermediate, and primary schools arc considered the model schools of New 
England. 

The principal manufactures consist of boots and shoes (of which there are 
over 30 factories), iron, wire, machinery, boilers, corsets, cotton goods, woolen 
goods, carpets, pistols, paper, locks, hardware, pianos, etc. The city is the 
centre of several railroads. There are numerous banks, insurance companies, 
and newspapers, three of the latter being French. Main and Front Streets 
are the principal business streets. The business blocks have a fine appear- 
ance, and impress a stranger with the magnitude and importance of the 
business which centres in Worcester. Population, 1880, 58,295; 1886, 67,000. 



CITY OF PORTLAND. 

Portland is the leading commercial city and a seaport of Maine, beauti- 
fully situated on an arm of the southwest side of Casco Bay, It occupies a 
peninsula three miles long by nearly a mile wide. Its Indian name was 
Machigonnc. It is 105 miles northeast of Boston, 60 miles southwest of 
Augusta, and 293 miles from Montreal. It includes several small islands in 
the bay, and was originally a part of Falmouth. It is connected with Mon- 
treal and Detroit by the Grand Trunk Railway; it is the terminus of six other 
railways. Grain is shipped from the Pacific coast to Portland without change 
of cars. Its trade with Europe, South America, the West Indies, and coast 



CITY OF PORTLAND. 



US 



towns is very important. Its harbor is the best on the Atlantic coast, having 
40 feet of water at low tide ; it is protected by the islands from storms, and 
has a good entrance. It is the winter station of the Canadian steamers. It is 
defended by two forts and fortifications on Hog Island, which protect the four 
entrances. The exports average $25,000,000, and imports $22,000,000. It 
has one dry-dock. Ship-building is conducted on an extensive scale. Among 
the other industries may be mentioned the manufacture of iron, carriages, 
furniture, leather, petroleum, varnishes, boots and shoes, jewelry, etc. The 
sales of merchandise amount annually to about $50,000,000; the manufactures 
amount to about $10,000,000. 

The city has fine, broad, shaded streets and handsome public edifices, 
among which may be mentioned a fire-proof and granite building for the 
United States 
Courts and 
Custom-house, 
costing $490,- 
000; the City 
Hall of olive- 
colored free- 
st o n e, the 
Mechanics' 
Hall of gran- 
ite, the Post- 
ofifice of white 
marble, etc. 
The city con- 
tains over 30 
churches, and 
is the seat of 
an Episcopal 
Bishop and of 
a Catholic 
Bishop. It 
has numerous 
charitable in- 
stitutions, and about 70 societies for charitable objects, etc. The city contains 
a Law Library and Public Library. 

The place was first settled in 1632 by an English colony, and was called 
Casco, but in 1668 it was changed to Falmouth. In 1786 a portion of the 
place, containing about 2,000 people, was called Portland. The principal 
occupation of the early settlers consisted of fishing and trading in furs, which 
they purchased from the Indians. In 1675 the place contained but forty 
families. The town was incorporated in 1 718. In 1755 the population had 
reached nearly 3,000 souls. In 1800 Maine was separated from Massachusetts 
and admitted into the Union as a State, and from that time until 1832 




CITY HALL AND COURT-HOUSE. 



ii6 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Portland was the capital ; in the latter year the capital was removed to 
Augusta. Portland was three times burned in the wars with the French and 
Indians. In 1866, on the 4th of July, a fire-cracker in a boat-builder's shop was 
the cause of a fire which destroyed $10,000,000 worth of property. Population 
in 1870, 31,413; in 1880, 34,000; and in 1886, 36,000. 



CITY OF NEW HAVEN. 

New Haven is the largest city in Connecticut and a port of entry. It is 
situated at the head of a bay, 4 miles from Long Island Sound, on a plain 
between the Ouinipiack and West Rivers. East Rock and West Rock are on 
either side, and are of volcanic formation, about 400 feet high. The city is 
']6 miles from New York and 36 from Hartford. The harbor is shallow, but 
has been much improved, and a breakwater is being constructed. The city is 
known as " Elm City," from the fine old elm trees which shade and adorn its 
streets, parks, and squares, many of which were planted over lOO years ago. 

The Rev. John Davenport and Thcophilus Eaton, with a small colony of 
Puritans, founded New Haven in 1638, and with other adjoining towns were 
an independent colony until 1662, when it was included in the same charter 
with Connecticut. New Haven and Hartford were joint capitals from this 
time until 1873, when Hartford becaVne the sole capital. 

The public square or " Green " is located in the centre of the city, and is 
surrounded by a double row of fine old elms. Temple Street, which passes 
through the " Green," is bordered by some of the finest elms in the city. On 
the " Green " are three churches, one of which is the oldest in New Haven. 
Behind one of these churches are the tombs of the " Regicides," Whaley, 
Digwell, and Goffe ; and upon the side or slope of West Rock is a cave com- 
posed of boulders, in which the " Regicides " concealed themselves, and on 
which is the inscription : " Opposition to tyrants is obedience to God." The 
central part of Chapel, Church, Orange, and State Streets is devoted to 
business. There are many fine streets, bordered with ancient elms, on which 
arc handsome residences, surrounded with fine lawns and gardens. 

Among the finest edifices may be mentioned the City Hall, County Court- 
house, Post-ofifice and Custom-house, the Yale College buildings, the Insur- 
ance building, the Hillhouse High-School, the Hospital, Trinity Church, St. 
Mary's Roman Catholic Church, the Calvary Baptist Church, etc. A large, 
new, and beautiful park has been built on East Rock, with several miles of 
drives. The scenery from the sides and top of this rock is very picturesque. 
The drives wind around the rock in serpentine form. On the top of the rock 
is a restaurant, from which point a beautiful view of the city can be had. 
The new Soldiers' Monument is to be erected on the top of East Rock, where 
it can be seen from the vessels coming up the harbor. The Farnham Drive 
and the English Drive are so named in honor of the late Mr. Farnham and 



CITY OF NEW HAVEN. 



117 



Governor English, who donated the money for their construction. Churches, 
cemeteries, and fine drives abound in and about the City of Ehns. Savin 
Rock, on the west shore, 4 miles from New Haven, has become very popular 
as a summer resort. It contains many fine residences, and is in some respects 
a miniature Coney Island. 

New Haven is a manufacturing city of great importance. Its manufactures 
of fire-arms, clocks, pianos and organs, carriages, india-rubber goods, corsets, 
iron goods, and machinery are very extensive. Other manufactured goods 
consist of cutlery, fish-hooks, paper boxes, brass goods, musical instruments, 
boots and shoes. It is the centre of a considerable wholesale and retail trade. 
The carriage business is one of the largest industries in the city. It is probably 
the first city in the Union for fine carriages. The Candee Rubber Factory is 
claimed to be the second largest in the world, while the Winchester Rifle 
Company finds a market not only in the United States, but in many parts of 
the globe. The Wheeler Iron Works and Sargent's factories are among the 
most important in the State. Nearly all the coal and much of the freight 
of New England passes through the city. 

New Haven in years past has had a large intercourse with the West 
Indies, but in later years much of it is conducted from New York. Its com- 
merce with Europe has increased rapidly, its foreign exports chiefly consisting 
of fire-arms, cartridges, shot, carriages, pianos, organs, machinery, etc. In one 
year 80 vessels of about 17,000 tons entered and 34 vessels of 9,000 tons 
cleared the port in the foreign trade. The direct foreign exports amounted 
to nearly $3,500,000, and the direct foreign imports to nearly $1,000,000. 
Much of the business being done through New York, these figures do not 
represent the entire exports and imports. About 800 vessels are engaged in 
the coast trade, Vv'hich is very extensive ; about 200 vessels belong to the 
district. There are 12 national. State, and savings banks, i trust company, 
2 insurance companies ; 5 lines of railroad connect it with all parts of the 
country, and 2 daily lines of steamboats with New York. It is the seat of 
Yale College, which was founded in 1700; first established at Saybrook, and 
removed to New Haven in 17 16. It is named in honor of Elihu Yale, who was 
born in New Haven in 1648, and when ten years old was taken to England by 
his father, and never returned ; was afterwards Governor of the East India 
Company, and Fellow of the Royal Society. His gifts to Yale College were 
about iJ^500 in money and many books. The college has over 100 instructors 
and nearly 1,200 students. Of its four faculties, the medical was organized in 
1812, the theological in 1822, the legal in 1824, and the philosophical in 1847. 
Its government consists of the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of the 
State, 6 fellows, its President, and 10 ministers. There is a geological and 
mineralogical cabinet of 30,000 specimens, and the college has the historical 
pictures and portraits of Trumbull. The buildings of the academical depart- 
ment occupy one of the squares in which the city was first laid out. It is 
almost in the centre of the city, above the "Green" or park; it has about 
650 students. Examinations are held in Chicago, Cincinnati, and New Haven 



ii8 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

each summer for admission to this department; the course is four years. 
The college library has about 100,000 volumes ; the libraries of the professional 
departments number about 20,000 volumes. The Peabody Museum of Natural 
History in connection with Yale College was erected from a fund of $150,000 
donated by George Peabody, of England, and its accumulations, at a cost of 
$175,000. The collections are open to the public. 

The population of New Haven in 1870 was 50,840; in 1880,62,882; and 
in 1886, 75,000. The city is noted for its charitable institutions. 



CITY OF HARTFORD. 

Hartford is the capital and one of the principal commercial cities of 
Connecticut, and is situated in the centre of the State, on the west bank and 
50 miles from the mouth of the Connecticut River, at the head of navigation, 
36 miles from New Haven and iii miles from New York. It is a port of 
delivery connected with the District of Middletown. The new Capitol is of 
white marble, and was erected at a cost of $2,500,000, and opened in 1878. It 
is one of the finest structures of its kind in America. It is 295 feet long, 189 
feet deep, and 257 feet high from the ground to the top of the crowning 
figure. It is located in the park on Capitol Hill, and commands a splendid 
view. The city is beautifully situated on rolling ground or small hills, and 
covers about 10 square miles. A small river, known as Park River, runs 
through the park ; and near the centre of the town a fine bridge spans the 
Connecticut River, and connects East Hartford with Hartford. The park 
covers 45 acres, and is named after the late Rev. Dr. Horace Bushnell. It 
contains a memorial arch, erected by the town of Hartford, " In honor of 
those who served and in memory of those who fell in the War for the 
Union " ; a fine statue by Ward of General Israel Putnam, and a statue 
of Dr. Horace Wells, the discoverer of anaesthetics. Trinity College for- 
merly occupied the site now occupied by the Capitol. Its new site is on 
Rocky Hill, approached by some of the finest avenues of the city. The 
buildings are of brown-stone, and form three great quadrangles ; the front is 
about 1,300 feet long; the grounds consist of 80 acres. This city is the home 
of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, and was 
the home of the late Mrs. Sigourney, the poetess. Some of the private resi- 
dences in Hartford are very beautiful, and are set in lawns and gardens, 
many of them adorned with statuary, groves, and greenhouses. 

The city is regularly laid out. The principal retail trade is on Main and 
Asylum Streets, which cross each other at right angles at State House Square 
in the centre of the city. It is here that the old State House stands, now 
occupied as the City Hall. It was built in 1795. It was in this old State 
House that the famous Hartford Convention met in 181 5. The new Post- 
office is an elegant structure, and is located just back of the old State House. 



CITY OF HARTFORD. 



119 



Hartford was settled in 1635 by English colonists who had first settled in 
Massachusetts. In 1636 was established the General Court of the Colony; in 
the following year occurred the war with the Pequot Indians; the first church 
was founded in 1638 ; a Constitution for the government of the Colony was 
framed in 1639; a House of Correction was established in 1640; the first 
tavern was authorized in 1644; capital offences were reduced (by a new code 
of laws) from 160 under English laws to 15 in 1650. In 1654 the Dutch of 
New Amsterdam, who had possession for a time, were ejected. 

Governor Andros tried to seize the Colonial Charter in 1687, but failed in 
the attempt, as it was carried off and hid in the famous Charter Oak tree. 
Connecticut was very patriotic in the Revolution, and contributed largely in 
men and money to the late Civil War. The city of Hartford was incorporated 
in 1784. It became the sole capital in 1875, New Haven and Hartford 
having been semi-capitals previous to this date. 

Hartford has an extensive trade with nearly all parts of the country. It 
is one of the principal seats of the life and fire insurance business, and several 
of the finest buildings in Hartford have been constructed by insurance com- 
panies. Book publishing has been conducted on a very extensive scale for a 
city of its size. Among the great manufactories may be mentioned Colt's 
Arms Factory (capital, $1,000,000), the Weed Sewing-Machine Factory, the 
Pratt & Whitney Machine Factory, the Washburn Car-Wheel P'actory, the 
Plimpton Envelope Company, several large iron works and foundries, marble 
works, and Cheney's Silk Mills, etc. The various manufactures amount to 
about $7,000,000 annually. In proportion to its number of inhabitants, 
Hartford is claimed to be the richest city in America. 

The Deaf and Dumb Institute was founded in 1817 by Dr. Gallaudet. 
The Retreat for the Insane is a fine building, in which nearly 5,000 patients 
have been treated. Among the other institutions are the Wadsworth 
Athenaeum, in which the Connecticut Historical Society is located ; the 
Hartford Hospital, the State Bible Society, the State Arsenal, the Widows' 
Home, the City Hospital, etc. About forty churches adorn the city. The 
Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal) was built by Mrs. Colt as a 
memorial to her husband. It is a very beautiful structure, with fine pictorial 
windows. The Cedar Hill Cemetery is very picturesque, and has many fine 
monuments. 

Hartford has a fine system of public schools, and contains the oldest 
grammar school in the State, founded in 1655. The city has a Free Library, 
a School of Design, and about 20 banks. Railroads connect the city with all 
parts of New England, and numerous lines of steamboats and sailing craft 
carry on an extensive commerce. Among its exports are tobacco and silks. 
Hartford is famous as one of the oldest towns in the country where were 
enacted the "Blue Laws." Population in 1870, 37,180; in 1880, 45,000; and 
in 1886, 50,000. 



120 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

CITY OF SPRINQFIELD. 

Springfield, Mass., is an important commercial centre. It is situated in 
the Connecticut Valley, on the east bank of the Connecticut River, 138 miles 
from New York, 102 from Albany, and 98 from Boston. It is the county seat 
of Hampden County, and the centre of a large number of railroads that 
connect it with all parts of the country and have done much towards the 
growth of the city. The principal manufacturing industries are the United 
States Armory, employing about 800 men; the Smith & Wesson Company 
(manufacturers of revolvers), the Wason Car Company (manufacturers of rail- 
road cars), and the Morgan Envelope Company. Other manufactures are 
cigars, jewelry, buttons, cloth, edge tools, pumps, gas machines, fire-engines, 
india-rubber goods, paper, etc. 

Some emigrants from Roxbury settled in Springfield in 1635. The place 
was at first called Agawam, and finally changed to Springfield in 1640. The 
city was incorporated in 1852. The main street in Springfield has a fine 
business appearance ; it is long and broad, and has many fine business blocks. 
The streets are generally shaded. The Arsenal is situated on the hill in a fine 
park of over 70 acres. During the Rebellion the Armory was run night and 
day, and about $12,000,000 was expended in the production of arms. Four 
bridges span the Connecticut River at this point. The suburbs of the city 
are very picturesque. 

The public buildings consist of the Court-house (a fine granite building); 
the City Hall ; the Public Library, containing about 50,000 volumes, which 
cost over $100,000; a Museum of Natural History is also located in this 
building. About 30 fine churches adorn the city. There are numerous banks, 
fire and life insurance companies. It is here that the Springfield Republican 
is published, a paper that is well known in all parts of the country; there are 
numerous other papers, both daily and weekly. There is a good system of 
public schools, and the Fire and Police Departments are very efificient. This 
city is the home of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, the publication of 
which has done much to increase the reputation of Springfield. In the 
suburbs is a beautiful cemetery, which impressed the writer when on a visit to 
the city as being as fine for its size as any he had ever seen ; there are three 
other cemeteries. Population, 1870, 26,703 ; 1880,33,340; 1886,40,000. 



CITY OF LYNN. 

Lynn, a city of Massachusetts, on the east bank of the Saugus River, 
extends 3 miles along the Atlantic shore, 9 miles northeast of Boston. It has 
a small harbor lying west of the peninsula of Nahant. It is connected with 
Boston by the B., R. B. & L. and B. & M. Railroads, and by a horse railroad. 
Nearly the whole population is engaged in the manufacture of boots and 



CITY OF TROY. 121 

shoes and works connected therewith. The shipments of boots and shoes 
annually are about 12,000,000 pairs, worth about $20,000,000. There are 
over 200 establishments engaged in this industry, with an estimated capital 
of $12,000,000. The leather industry employs nearly $1,000,000 capital ; tan- 
ning and finishing about 1,000 skins per day. These industries employ nearly 
12,000 hands. The Thompson-Houston Company employ about 500 men, 
and are increasing their works very rapidly. Among the principal architectural 
attractions of the city is the St. Stephen's Church edifice, presented to the 
parish by the late E. R. Mudge, of Swampscott, as a memorial to his son, 
Colonel Charles E. Mudge, killed at Gettysburg. The material of which 
the church is built was taken from the Mudge estate at Swampscott. The 
place was settled in 1629, and incorporated in 1850. Originally it com- 
prised the town of Swampscott and the watering-place of Nahant, which 
is 2 miles distant. "We have more men than uniforms; what shall we 
do?" was the response to the call of the State for troops in 1861. It 
was in Lynn that the first American fire-engine was made, and the remains of 
the original iron-works are still exhibited. The coasting trade is consider- 
able. High Rock, in the centre of the city, is 180 feet high, and is the 
end of a range of hills that form its north background. It has a Soldiers* 
Monument which cost over $30,000, erected in 1872; 3 beautiful cemeteries, 
extensive water-works, a well-organized Fire Department, a fine system of 
public schools, a Free Public Library, with 30,000 volumes ; about 30 churches, 
a City Hall which cost over $300,000, 2 fire insurance companies, and banks 
with about $1,500,000 capital. The handsome common, the public squares, 
and above all, the beach, where numerous fine residences have been built, 
add much to the attractions of Lynn. Salem, noted for witchcraft, is only 
5 miles distant. Population of Lynn, 1870, 28,000; 1880, 38,284; 1886,46,000. 



CITY OF TROY. 

Troy is a city of New York, and the capital of Rensselaer County. It is 
situated on the east bank of the Hudson River at its confluence with the 
Mohawk, at the head of steamboat navigation and tide-water, 151 miles north 
of New York City and 6 miles north of Albany. Troy was settled by the 
Dutch in 1700, and was incorporated as a village in 1794. Four times it has 
been nearly destroyed by fire; in 1862 the loss amounted to $3,000,000. Two 
small streams, having a series of falls, furnish water-power to mills and fac- 
tories, besides that given by a dam across the Hudson. At Troy is the 
principal outlet of the canals connecting the Hudson with Lakes Champlain, 
Ontario, and Erie; and it has railways diverging in all directions, connecting 
it with New York, Boston, etc. The Union Depot, in the centre of the city, 
is one of the largest in America. 

The iron furnaces and manufactories are the largest east of the Alleghanies, 
being furnished with the magnetic ores of Lake Champlain and the hematitic 



122 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

ores of Western Massachusetts. The coal is brought from Pennsylvania and 
Mar>'land. The chief iron-works are those for bar-iron, railway-spikes, nails, 
locomotives, stoves, hot-air furnaces, hollow-ware, machinery, agricultural 
implements, etc. Other important manufactures are those of railway cars, 
coaches, cotton and woolen goods, breweries, flour, boots and shoes, shirts 
and collars — the latter employing upwards of 10,000 persons, with extensive 
machinery. There is also the largest manufactory of mathematical instruments 
in the country. The property which reaches tide-water by the canals center- 
ing at Troy, including lumber, is valued at $17,000,000 annually. Its manu- 
factures are among the most successful and important in America. The first 
Bessemer steel works were located at Troy. Its manufacture- of stoves 
exceeds that of any other city in the Union ; while the products of its 
furnaces, rolling-mills, and foundries are enormous. In the product of shirts, 
collars, and cuffs it stands unrivalled. Several railroads connect it with various 
parts of the country. A fine iron bridge, which cost $250,000, spans the river, 
connecting Troy and West Troy ; the latter is practically a part of Troy, as 
Allegheny is of Pittsburgh. 

The city contains 55 churches, fine public schools, the Rensselaer Poly- 
technic Institution, a Roman Catholic seminary, asylums, academies, etc. The 
Watervliet Arsenal, with workshops located in handsome grounds, is in West 
Troy. Population, 1870, 46,421 ; 1880, 56,747; 1886, about 63,000. 



CITY OF SYRACUSE. 

Syracuse is an important city of Central New York and county seat of 
Onondaga County. It is situated in the Onondaga Valley, at the head of 
Onondaga Lake, on the Erie Canal, at the junction of the New York Central 
and Oswego Railroads. It is 148 miles from Albany and 150 miles from 
Buffalo. The Oswego Canal runs north from the city. It is the centre of a 
large trade on account of its central location. It is sometimes called the city 
of conventions. The manufacture of salt is one of its principal industries. 
The Salt Springs were first discovered by the Jesuits in 1654, and were taken 
possession of by the State in 1797, at which time special laws were passed 
governing its manufacture. About twenty companies are now engaged in 
this industry; the works are situated on the shores of the lake, and are the 
largest in America. 

The other important industries are iron furnaces, numerous large machine- 
shops, Bessemer steel works, rolling-mills, boiler works, fruit canning, silver- 
ware, breweries, carriage-shops, malleable iron works, musical instruments 
(organs), tinware, sheet-iron, door, sash and blind factories, agricultural 
implements, etc. There arc over 100 large manufacturing establishments ; the 
annual product is about $20,000,000 a year. It is a handsome city ; contains 
a Court-house, State Arsenal, State Lunatic Asylum, 56 churches, 11 banks, 
numerous schools and libraries. Population in 1880, 55,563; in 1886, 75,485. 



CITY OF ALBANY. 



123 



CITY OF ALBANY. 



Albany is the capital of New York ; it is situated on the west bank of the 
Hudson River, 145 miles north of New York City. It is the oldest town in 
the Union, with the exception of Jamestown, Va., and St. Augustine, Fla. 
It was settled by the Dutch, and used as a trading-post with the Indians as 
early as 1614 ; it was known as Beaver Wyck, and afterward as Williamstadt. 
Fort Orange was erected in 1623, and the place was known by that name until 
it came into the possession of the British in 1664, when it was named Albany, 
in honor of the Duke of York and Albany, afterward James II. It was incor- 
porated as a city in 16S6, and in 1797 became the capital of the State. 

The new Capitol at Albany is a magnificent structure. It is built of gran- 
ite, and was erected at great cost ; it is, in fact, one of the finest, largest, and 
most expensive buildings of the kind in the Union. It is 390 feet long by 
290 wide, and cov- 
ers more than 3 
acres. It contains 
the public insti- 
tutions, among 
which are the 
State Library, 
containing 150,- 
000 volumes, and 
a great many 
interesting Revo- 
lutionary relics; 
and the Geologi- 
cal Hall, contain- 
ing very extensive 
and varied collec- 
tions in Geology 
and Natural His 
tory. The State 

Hall is used for certain Departments of the Government. The State Normal 
School, established in 1844, has been very successful. The Albany Academy 
has a building of rare architectural beauty. The Union University was in- 
corporated in 1852, in which the most important branches of practical science 
are taught in all their departments. The Medical College, founded in 1839, 
has one of the best Museums in America, and is well furnished with ample 
means of instruction. The Law School, established in 185 1, has educated a 
large number of students. The Dudley Observatory, established in 1852, is 
well organized and equipped for its purposes. The Medical and Law Schools 
were at first separate institutions, but now, with Union College, constitute 
Union University. 




ALBANY, N. Y. 



124 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Albany has a fine system of public schools, with a high-school, which is 
very efficient. There are two public Hospitals and a Penitentiary. It is a 
great centre of railways, and is one of the largest timber markets in the world ; 
millions of cubic feet pass through this market annually. Stove manufacture 
is an important branch of its industries. The city is situated in the midst of 
a fertile country, and is a great emporium for the transit trade of the North 
and West with the cities on the coast, and being situated at the point where 
the Champlain and Erie Canals join the Hudson, it has great advantages for 
commerce. It contains some of the finest public edifices in the Union, which 
for rare architectural beauty are seldom surpassed. Viewed from some points 
on the river, Albany has a fine, picturesque, and striking appearance. Three 
large bridges span the Hudson River. The water supply is from an artificial 
lake a short distance from the city, and in part from the Hudson. There is 
a beautiful public park on the west side of the city, in which some of the 
scenery is very picturesque. There are over 60 churches of various denom- 
inations. The population in 1880 was 90,903, and in 1886, 100,000. Yearly 
expenditures about $1,500,000, 



CITY OF LOWELL. 

Lowell is an important manufacturing city of Massachusetts, situated on 
the Merrimac River, 25 miles from Boston. It is the centre of numerous 
railroads, and has been called the Manchester of America, by reason of its 
vast manufacturing industries. The Merrimac River, near the mouth of the 
Concord River, has a fall of 33 feet at this point, which supplies canals with water 
power. These canals are controlled by a company, which erected extensive 
factories for twelve large corporations, who consume about 10,000,000 pounds 
cf wool and 50,000,000 pounds of cotton annually, and have an invested 
capital of $16,000,000 and employ 16,000 operatives, of which over 11,000 are 
females. The employes for years came from the agricultural districts of the 
surrounding States, and lived in large boarding-houses, built and owned by 
the corporations, and kept under strict discipline. Foreign immigration has 
added largely to the number of operatives in later years. Its natural advan- 
tages for manufacturing are unsurpassed in America. The twelve corporations 
produce annually 140,000,000 yards of cotton, 3,500,000 yards of woolen cloth, 
2,500,000 yards of carpets, 135,000 shawls, nearly 10,000,000 dozen hosiery 
(dye and print), and 67,000,000 yards cotton cloth. It has eighty large mills. 
The capital of each corporation varies from $1,250,000 to $2,500,000. We 
doubt if the reader would be interested in the vast array of figures, represent- 
ing the products and goods manufactured by all the mills in this great line of 
industry. The carpets manufactured include ingrain, Brussels, and Melton, 
and equal in design, quality, and finish any manufactured in Europe. Among 
the other industries are the Lowell machine-shops, employing 1,400 men and 



CITY OF SCRANTON. 12s 

a capital of $600,000 ; the Kitson Machinery Factory, the American Bolt 
Company, the Svvaine Turbine-Wheel Company, the Lowell Bleachery, employ- 
ing 500 hands and over $250,000 capital. Other manufactures are hosiery, 
edge tools, tiles, screws, fixed ammunition and cartridges, paper, hair felt, 
elastic goods, carriages, furniture, pumps, hydraulic presses, bobbins, chemicals, 
etc. This is the city from which Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co. flood the country 
with patent medicine, and send out 10,000,000 almanacs annually. 

The City Library contains 17,000 volumes ; the Mechanics' Library, 13,000 
volumes. The city was chartered in 1836. It originally consisted of the 
town of Chelmsford ; subsequently parts of Dracot and Tewksbury were added. 
It is well paved, drained, and lighted by gas. It has a Court-house and 
7 national banks, with an aggregate capital of $2,350,000. There are 6 savings 
banks, 2 hospitals, 2 insurance companies, Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, 
an Old Ladies' Home, Young Women's Home, a good Fire Department, 
with an electric fire-alarm, and a well-organized police force. The city has 
handsome public squares. In the centre of the city is a monument erected 
to the memory of Ladd and Whitney, members of the Sixth Massachusetts 
Volunteers, who were killed on April 19, 1861, by a mob in Baltimore. The 
water-works were finished in 1873, and cost $1,500,000. The city was named 
in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell, of Boston. Belvidere is the fashionable 
quarter of the city, and is in the eastern section. The population in 1861 
was 36,827; 1870,40,928; 1880,59,845; 1886,65,000. 



CITY OF SCRANTON. 

SCRANTON is a city in Pennsylvania. It is situated in a valley on the 
Lackawanna River. It was founded by a family of the name of Scranton in 
1840, and incorporated as a city in 1866. It is 145 miles from New York 
and 167 miles from Philadelphia. It is in the midst of the coal region. Its 
shipments, upwards of 50,000 tons daily, are enormous, and it has a large 
trade in mining supplies. It has vast iron and steel works, extensive machine- 
shops, breweries, gunpowder works, and stove works. It fixes the American 
rate on steel rails. Other industries are silk fabrics, brass goods, leather, 
hollow-ware, etc. It has numerous handsome and substantial public buildings, 
12 banks, over 30 fine churches, gas-works, water-works, a good fire depart- 
ment, numerous charitable institutions, public schools, academies, a Board of 
Trade, a Scientific and Historical Society, and a fine collection of Indian relics. 
The city is well laid out, and has a fine business appearance. Its wholesale 
trade is very extensive. It is on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail- 
road, and is the terminus of the Lackawanna & Bloomsburgh, Delaware & 
Hudson, the Erie, and the Philadelphia & Reading Railroads. Scranton is a 
growing city and a great hive of industry. Population, 1880,45,850; 1885, 
70,350. 



126 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



CITY OF BUFFALO. 

Buffalo for many years has been called the " Queen City of thcnLakes," 
and well merits that proud appellation. It is a " Port of Entry," and the 
capital of Erie County, New York ; situated at the eastern extremity of Lake 
Erie, at the head of Niagara River, and the mouth of Buffalo River, in lati- 
tude 42 degrees 53 minutes North; longitude 78 degrees 55 minutes West, 
about 293 miles northwest of New York City, and is the western terminus of 
the Erie Canal. It has one of the finest harbors on the lakes, formed by the 
Buffalo River, a small stream which is navigable for about three miles from its 
mouth. The entrance is protected by a breakwater 1,500 feet long, upon the 
south side of the river. In 1869 the United States Government began the 




VIEW IN BUFFALO PARK. 



construction of an outside harbor, by building a breakwater 4,000 feet long, 
fronting the entrance to Buffalo River, at a distance of about one-half mile 
from the shore. In addition to the harbor, there are a large number of slips, 
docks, and basins, for the accommodation of shipping and canal-boats. The 
city was founded in 1804, and named New Amsterdam. It became a military- 
post in 181 3, and was destroyed by the British in the same year. The place 
was rebuilt after the war, and took its present name from the river, on whose 
banks stood the principal village of the Seneca Indian.s, and where lived the 
famous Chiefs, Red Jacket and Farmers Brother. 

It grew rapidly after the completion in 1825 of the Erie Canal, and soon 
became a transfer station for all the commerce of the lakes. It was incorpora- 
ted as a city in 1832, with a population of about 10,000. In later years it 



CITY OF BUFFALO. 127 

has become one of the most important railroad centres in the country. It is the 
terminus of the New York Central ; New York, Lake Erie, and Western ; Lake 
Shore and Michigan Southern ; Michigan Central ; New York, West Shore, and 
Buffalo ; Lehigh Valley ; Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western ; Buffalo, New 
York, and Philadelphia ; New York, Chicago, and St. Louis ; Buffalo, Roches- 
ter, and Pittsburgh, and two branches of the Grand Trunk. The railroad 
yard facilities are the most extensive in the world, there being about 660 
miles of track inside of the city. The vast quantities of grain moving east to 
the Atlantic coast is an important part of the commerce of Buffalo, and no 
other city in the Union has better facilities for handling or storing it, there 
being about 40 elevators with a capacity for handling nearly 4,000,000 bushels 
per day. The large stock-yards in the eastern suburbs of the city are used 
not only as a transfer station, but as a market for local distribution. The city 
has an immense trade in coal, which arrives from Pennsylvania, and is shipped 
east by rail and canal and west by lake. Its anthracite coal docks are the 
most extensive in the world; the total receipts of anthracite coal for 1885 
were about three million tons, and of bituminous, about one and one-half mill- 
ions of tons. 

There is quite an extensive trade in lumber from Pennsylvania, Michigan, 
and Lower Canada. There are over thirty large establishments for the man- 
ufacture of iron, besides two yards fitted to iron ship-building, which have pro- 
duced some of the finest vessels on the lakes, and many iron revenue vessels 
for the Government. The estimated value of the leather manufacture here in 
1885 was $10,000,000, of boots and shoes $2,000,000. 

Buffalo takes the lead in the quality of hemlock sole leather produced in 
the United States. Its flour-mills are also quite extensive, having a capacity 
of 3,850 bbls. per day. 

The city is regularly built, being eight miles long, north and south, and 
about five miles wide, containing thirty-nine square miles. It has long been 
celebrated for the elegance of its private dwellings which can be found in 
nearly every part of the city, especially on the avenues lying west of Main 
Street. The broad, straight avenues lined by noble trees add greatly to the 
beauty of the city. The climate though cold in winter is considered pleasant 
and very healthful ; it has a good water and sewerage system. Many of its 
streets are paved with smooth asphalt. The city is divided into thirteen 
wards, and its principal officers are the Mayor and Common Council, com- 
posed of two Aldermen from each ward, the Comptroller, City Treasurer, 
City Engineer, Street Commissioner, three Assessors, and Corporation Counsel. 

The assessed value of its taxable property is $1 14,000,000. Its principal 
public buildings are : The City and County Hall, completed in 1876, at a cost of 
$1,445,000. It is built of granite, is three stories high, not including the fin- 
ished basement, and furnishes quarters for all the city and county officers, as 
well as the courts. It is situated on the square bounded by Franklin, Church, 
Delaware, and Eagle Streets ; the County Jail is on the opposite side of Dela- 
ware Street, and is connected by a tunnel under the street. The State Insane 



128 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Asylum, recently completed at a cost of over $2,000,000; the Erie County 
Almshouse ; Erie County Penitentiary, and many public hospitals, asylums, 
and charitable institutions. Among its fine edifices are, the Custom-house ; 
the German Insurance Building; theHayen Building; the White Building; the 
Board of Trade Building; the Marine Bank Building; the Young Men's Asso- 
ciation Building; the Erie County, Western, and Buffalo Savings Banks Build- 
ino-s; the Fine Arts Academy; the Fitch Creche ; the State Arsenal ; and the 
Seventy-fourth Regiment Armory ; besides its many elegant hotels and rail- 
road depots. 

Among the institutions in which special interest is taken are the Young 
Men's Association, now called the " Buffalo Library "; the Society of Natural 
Sciences ; the Grosvenor Library ; the Buffalo Historical Society ; the Acad- 
emy of Fine Arts ; the Decorative Arts Society ; the Liedertafel Singing 
Society ; the Buffalo Orphan Asylum ; the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, and the Law Library. 

There are over one hundred churches and places of public worship. There 
are ten daily newspapers, and ten weeklies, besides several monthly periodi- 
cals. There are over fifty public schools ; a State normal school ; one high- 
school ; two medical colleges; Saint Joseph's College, conducted by the Chris- 
tian Brothers ; and Canisus College ; besides numerous private schools, col- 
leges, and academies. Music Hall, the property of the German Young Men's 
Association, was destroyed by fire March, 1885, but is now being rebuilt more 
substantially than before. The Young Men's Association, now Buffalo 
Library Association, are also erecting a new and elegant fire-proof building 
for the accommodation of their valuable circulating library of nearly 50,000 
volumes— this building is to be occupied also by the Buffalo Historical So- 
ciety, the Society of Natural Sciences, and the Academy of the Fine Arts. 

The Park system, extending around the business part of the city in the 
shape of a horse-shoe, contains over 600 acres, and is connected by boulevards 
comprising over 12 miles of delightful drives. Forest Lawn Cemetery is 
beautifully situated, and laid out in the northern part of the city. It contains 
75 acres. 

The population in 1810 was 1,500; in 1830, 8,653 ; in 1850,42,000; in 1 870, 
117,700; in 1880, 155,134; and in 1886,210,818. Its growth is not only rapid 
but substantial. The proportion of tax-payers to the residents is not exceeded 
by any city in the United States. 



CITY OF TRENTON. 

Trenton is the capital of New Jersey and an important manufacturing 
city. It is situated on the Delaware River at its confluence with Assanpink 
Creek, at the head of steamboat navigation, 28 miles from Philadelphia and 
57 miles from New York by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is a well-built and 



CITY OF HARRISBURG. 129 

handsome city, and commands a fine view of the river. It contains the State 
Capitol, State Lunatic Asylum for 600 patients. State Normal School, Deaf 
and Dumb Asylum, penitentiary with 915 inmates, State Library of 25,000 
volumes, 36 churches, several daily newspapers, and extensive railway con- 
nections. The city is famous for its extensive manufactures of terra-cotta and 
crockery, which exceeds all the rest of the United States put together. 
Cooper & Hewitt's large iron-works and Roebling's famous cable bridge works 
are located here. Other manufactures are steam-engines, machinery, wire, wire- 
cordage, cotton, woolen, and several large rubber factories. In the War of 
the Revolution Trenton was the scene (December 25, 1776) of a night attack 
by Washington upon the British troops — chiefly Hessians — whom he surprised 
by crossing the Delaware when the floating ice was supposed to have ren- 
dered it impassable. Population, 1870, 22,870; 1880,30,000; 1886,35,000. 



CITY OF WILMINQTON, 

Wilmington is a city and port of North Carolina, on the Cape Fear River, 
just below the junction of the northeast and northwest branches, about 7 miles 
from the sea. It has a fine harbor, railway connections, and internal navigation. 
The exports are extensive, and consist of cotton, shingles, tar, resin, turpentine, 
lumber, rice, etc. It is suf^ciently far south to enjoy a balmy climate, and is, 
withal, not only an enterprising and growing city, but a shady, attractive place, 
sufficiently near the sea to gain the advantage of its health-giving saline atmos- 
phere. It has fine drives and watering-places. Wilmington is a railroad 
centre of importance, and a port of heavy shipments of Carolinian staples. 
Depth of water at main bar, iS}4 feet. 

During the Civil War it was one of the principal ports of the Confederacy, 
and was celebrated for blockade-runners. It finally surrendered to General 
Terry in 1865. Population, 1870, 13,446; in 1880, 17,300; and in 1886, 21,000. 



CITY OF HARRISBURa. 

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Dauphin 
County, situated on the Susquehanna River, and surrounded by a productive 
region and magnificent scenery. It is 106 miles from Philadelphia. The river is 
here a mile wide, and is crossed by three railroad bridges, one of which is nearly 
4,700 feet in length. It has a handsome State House, 180x80 feet, sur- 
mounted by a dome. It has a handsome public square. Its industries con- 
sist of iron foundries, machine-shops, coach, car, and steam-engine factories, 
tanneries, breweries, saw-mills, cotton-mills, etc. It is the seat of a Catholic 
}7ishopric. The Cumberland Valley, the Pennsylvania, the Northern Central, 



130 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

the Philadelphia & Reading, the Schuylkill & Susquehanna, and the Southern 
Pennsylvania (unfinished 1886) Railroads radiate from this centre. 

The city has a United States Court-house and Post-office building, 
Court-house, jail, State Arsenal, State Lunatic Asylum, 35 churches, several 
academies, 8 or 10 newspaper-offices, markets, schools, and 7 diverging rail- 
ways. It was settled in 1733 by John Harris, an Englishman, under a grant 
from the Penns, the original European settlers of Pennsylvania. In 1785 a 
town was laid out, and named Harrisburg, after John Harris, Jr., the founder. 
An attempt was made by Chief- Justice McKean to change the name to 
Louisburg, in honor of the Dauphin of France, but was successfully resisted 
by Harris. It was selected as the scat of the State capital in 1812. The city 
is well paved, and has gas, electric light, and water. Population, 1870, 
23,104; 1880,30,400; 1886 (estimated), 40,000. 



KANSAS CITY. 

Kansas City is the county seat of Jackson County, situated in the State 
of Missouri, at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas (or Kaw) Rivers. 
The boundary line between the States of Kansas and Missouri runs through 
the western section of the city. A large part of the city is built on a plateau, 
covering numerous bluffs, which are boldly rugged and picturesque. The 
principal bluff almost overhangs the narrow strip of land called the bottom 
that runs along parallel with the river. The plateau is intersected by numerous 
ravines, which form great hills and pretty vales all across the entire city. 
Thus it happens that almost every street in Kansas City, save only those in 
" the bottom," is a constant series of " ups and downs," hills and valleys. 
This lends a picturesqueness to the view when taken from any point of 
observation that is exceedingly interesting and enjoyable. Situated in the 
midst of a territory rich in natural resources to an almost unlimited extent, 
and with almost unequalled climatic advantages, Kansas City engages in com- 
merce of infinite variety. Crop failures are less damaging for the reason that 
all do not fail in the same season, and the ever-expanding live-stock industry 
furnishes another source of revenue. 

Kansas City has become the central point in the United States for the 
packing and canning interest. With six great packing-houses, Kansas City is 
producing pork products and canned meats that are shipped in immense 
quantities to all parts of the United States, and the trade abroad has become 
a regular and special factor in the business. The Western States and Terri- 
tories are regular patrons of the packing-houses in this city, the trade extend- 
ing even to the Pacific coast. A conservative estimate of the packing output 
of the city in value is $35,000,000. 

In bank clearings Kansas City ranks as the eleventh city in the Union, the 
total figures for 1885 being $223,582,933. The business buildings of the ciiy 



CITY OF EVANSVILLE. 131 

are extensive and very substantial ; the private residences are numerous and 
elegant ; and the value of real estate has advanced rapidly, in many instances 
more than doubling in a year. Fremont alludes to the site of the city in 1843 
as Chouteau's Landing. The growth of the city began from 1850 to i860. 
After the Civil War it became one of the great railroad centres and an 
important point for supplying emigrants on their Western journey, and the 
principal market for the sale of cattle, buffalo skins, and hides. It is now the 
centre of a vast railway system. Most of these railroads cross the Missouri 
River on an iron bridge 1,387 feet long, and supported by stone piers. The 
Kansas River is spanned by two other fine bridges. 

Kansas City is almost in the geographical centre of the country, as she is in 
the centre of the rich agricultural region. The line of industrial and populous 
growth approaches near this point with each year of progress, and it is easy 
to discover why Kansas City extends its trade limits with such remarkable 
rapidity. 

The table of assessed valuation of property for 1885 shows a very marked 
increase over 1884, and is only another evidence of the rapid progress of the 
city. The assessed valuation of the city last year (1885) was $31,678,520. 
Kaw Township was also added, amounting to about $3,000,000, making the 
total $34,678,520. This year (1886) the assessed valuation of the city is exactly 
$46,386,790. The city assessed valuation is made at 40 cents on the dollar of 
cash value. On the ist day of January, 1886, the total deposits of the banks 
were $12,072,973, an increase of nearly $4,000,000 over January, 1885. A year 
ago the loans and discounts aggregated $6,214,000, while at present they 
amount to $8,282,835, an increase of $2,068,835, or 33.29 per cent. 

The city has one of the best paying cable lines in the United States, and 
several others are in course of construction. There are numerous grain 
elevators, having storage capacity for a vast quantity of grain ; immense stock- 
yards, and a cattle stock exchange. Bituminous coal, taken from the sur- 
rounding counties, is distributed from this point over a vast region of territory. 
Population, 1870, 32,260; 1880, 55,813. In November, 1885, a municipal 
enumeration was completed, and showed a population of 105,049. If we add 
that section which is cut ofT by the State line of Kansas, but which is prac- 
tically a part of the city, the population would be increased to 150,000 in 1886. 



CITY OF EVANSVILLE. 

EVANSVILLE is an enterprising city and port of entry of Indiana. It is 
situated in Vanderburgh County, on the right bank of the Ohio, midway 
between Louisville and Cairo, 150 miles from Indianapolis. It is very advan- 
tageously situated for trade, being connected by several railroads with the 
great railroad system of the United States. From Evansville downwards the 
navigation of the river is seldom interrupted either by drought or by ice ; and 



132 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

here terminates the Wabash & Erie Canal, the longest work of the kind in 
America. Thus, the place connects the Lower Ohio at once with the inland 
lakes and with the Gulf of Mexico. Coal and iron ore abound in the vicinity. 
It is a manufacturing centre of importance, and the trade in agricultural prod- 
ucts is very extensive. The city has a fine Custom-house and Post-ofifice, 
Court-house, Marine Hospital, numerous public halls, schools, churches, etc. 
It has grown rapidly, and is in a flourishing condition. Population, 1870, 
21,830; 1880,35,000; 1886,45,000. 



CITY OF DAVENPORT. 

Davenport is a city in Iowa, opposite Rock Island, 111. It is situated on 
the right (or west) bank of the Mississippi River, below the Upper Rapids, 
183 miles west of Chicago. It is on the Great Western route from Chicago, 
and is the centre of numerous railroads. A large iron bridge, which cost 
$1,000,000, spans the river at this point, and connects the city with Rock 
Island ; it has railroad, carriage, and pedestrian accommodation. The scenery 
in this vicinity is unsurpassed on the North Mississippi, and the city, which is 
on a commanding bluff, affords a fine view of the river. 

The manufactures consist of cotton and woolen goods, agricultural imple- 
ments, flour, carriages, furniture, lumber, etc. It is situated in the midst of a 

fine agr i c u 1- 
tural district, 
and has a large 
trade with the 
surrounding 
country. It 
has a fi n e 
court-house, 
City Hall, gas- 
works, water- 
works, over 
30 churches, 
schools, banks. 
Opera-house, a 
Catholic Acad- 
emy, Semina- 
ry, Hospital, 
• and an Epis- 

copal College. Coal is abundant in the vicinity, and an extensive trade is 
conducted by rail and water. Numerous fine buildings, erected by the United 
States Government, including the United States Arsenal and Military Head- 
quarters, are situated on Rock Island. Population, 1870, 20,038; 1880^ 
25,000; 1886, 32,000. 




DAVENPORT. 



CITY OF OMAHA. 



133 



CITY OF OMAHA. 



Omaha is the principal city of the State of Nebraska. It is situated on 
the west bank of the Missouri River, opposite Council Bluffs, 20 miles from 
the mouth of the Nebraska River, and 490 miles west by rail from Chicago. 
The name of the city is derived from one of the Indian tribes of Dakota. 
The city is built on a plateau about 100 feet above the river, and 1,000 feet 
above the sea. The place was laid out in 1854, and incorporated in 1859. 
The capital of the Territory was first located at this point, but was afterwards 
removed to Lincoln. Omaha is the terminus of the Union Pacific, the Omaha 
& Northwestern, the Omaha & Southwestern, and numerous other railroads. 
It is here that the Union Pacific and Central Pacific connect. The town was 
originally planned on a scale that provided for the growth of a large city. 
Before the ^ -^- ^ 

Union Pa- 
cific was con- 
structed it 
was the great 
point at 
which emi- 
grants ar- 
rived and 
fitted out for 
their over- 
land trips to 
the '^ P^ a r 
West." Its 
growth has 
been rapid. 
A bridge 
spans the 

Missouri, and connects the city with Council Bluffs. It has extensive railroad 
shops, iron-works for the manufacture of railroad iron, machine-shops, and 
smelting works for separating and refining all kinds of ore which come to 
Omaha from the various mining regions. The city has about 30 churches, 
several daily and weekly papers, is lighted with gas, has numerous street 
(horse) railroads, fine schools, hotels, fine residences and business blocks, a 
United States Post-office and Custom-house, in which are the United States 
Court Chambers for the District of Nebraska; a large State Institution for 
the Deaf and Dumb. Its wholesale trade is extensive, and rapidly increasing. 
Population, i860, 1,900; 1870, 16,083; 1880, 30,518; in 1885,61,800; and 
in 1886, 70,000. Lincoln has a population of 16,000. 




OMAHA AS IT WAS IN 187O. 



134 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

CITY OF COLUMBUS. 

Columbus is a flourishing city, and the capital of Ohio. It is situated in 
Franklin County, on the Scioto River, which is a tributary of the Ohio. It is 
about lOO miles northeast of Cincinnati, in the midst of an extensive plain. 

Its streets are wide 
and handsome, and 
'% shaded with elms. 
The squares and 
beautiful parks add 
^ much to its appear- 
ance. The city be- 
came the State capi- 
tal in 1816; to this 
and the other numer- 
j ^y ous State institutions, 
the city for a long 
time owed its import- 
ance. But in late 
years its manufac- 
tures have increased 
rapidly. They con- 
sist of carriages, agri- 
cultural implements, furniture, files, harness, brushes, printing establishments, 
extensive flour-mills and engineering works, rolling-mills, blast furnaces, tools, 
saws, watches, leather, window glass, malleable iron, boots and shoes. 

The principal public buildings are the State Capitol, the City Hall, the 
Penitentiary, the new Government Building, the numerous asylums for the 
blind, deaf and dumb, insane and idiotic, the Court-house, Opera-house, Alms- 
house, United States Arsenal, high-school building, the Odd Fellows' Hall, 
and Post-ofifice. Other attractions are the beautiful gardens of the Horticul- 
tural Society, numerous hotels, fine suburbs, horse-railroads, and Green Lawn 
Cemetery. It is the centre of fourteen lines of railroad, and its population 
and trade are rapidly increasing. Population, in 1870, 31,000 ; in 1880, 52,000; 
in 1886, 75,000. 




STATE CAPITOL, 



CITY OF TOLEDO. 

Toledo is the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio. It is situated on both 
sides of the Maumee River, near the western extremity of Lake Erie, 92 miles 
west of Cleveland and 53 miles southwest of Detroit. It was first settled in 
1832, and incorporated in 1836. It has a fine harbor, and is well built. Its 
streets are broad and regularly laid out. It has very extensive railroads, which 
centre in one great union depot, and is the terminus of the Miami & Erie and 



CITY OF MEMPHIS. 135 

Wabash & Erie Canals, together 700 miles in length. The local and transit 
trade is immense. It has 45 churches, a convent, 3 asylums, several lines of 
horse railroad, a water system which cost $1,000,000, a fire department and 
police system which are first-class, numerous fine hotels, banks, schools, a Free 
Public Library, numerous newspapers, and a Produce Exchange. Its com- 
merce in one year was, in exports, $1,836,782 ; imports, $283,329. The total 
value of the commerce of the city for the year 1885 was $220,166,419. Its 10 
grain elevators can store 4,017,000 bushels. In one year the deliveries of grain 
amounted to 39,304,891 bushels. The manufactures of the city are very 
extensive, and comprise carriages, wagons, iron, lumber, sash and blinds, 
railroad cars, moldings, steam-engines, boilers, pumps, bricks, etc. The whole- 
sale trade is very important, and it is the centre of a large retail trade with 
the surrounding country. Population, 1870, 30,731 ; 1880, 50,000; 1886,70,000. 



CITY OF MEMPHIS. 

Memphis is a fine commercial city in Tennessee, and between St. Louis 
and New Orleans the largest city on the Mississippi. It is the capital of 
Shelby County. It is 420 miles below St. Louis, and 800 miles above New 
Orleans. It is handsomely built on the fourth Chickasaw bluff, 70 feet above 
the highest floods. It is the outlet of a large cotton region. It has fine 
public buildings, hotels, and theatres, 50 churches, 3 colleges, loo schools, 
5 daily and 10 other newspapers, 10 banks, and several insurance companies; 
railways connecting it with New Orleans, Charleston, Louisville, Little Rock, 
and all parts of the country ; with several foundries ; 10 of the largest oil-mills 
in the United States, producing vast quantities of cotton-seed oil and oil 
cake, in the production of which is consumed 500,000 sacks of cotton seed 
annually ; manufactories of boilers, machinery, etc. The Mississippi River is 
the scene of an extensive commerce. There is a Cotton Exchange, a Custom- 
house, a Chamber of Commerce, and a Board of Health. The latter have 
taken stringent measures to prevent a recurrence of the yellow fever. In 
the Civil War the city fell into the hands of the Federal forces in 1862, and 
was the base of military operations for the capture of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, 
Memphis was desolated by fearful outbreaks of yellow fever in the summers 
of 1878 and 1879. I" January, 1880, the city began to lay sewers, and now 
have 50 miles of the best sewer system in the United States, and also have a 
good subsoil drainage system of about 50 miles in extent. 

The city is very picturesque when viewed from the river. The large ware- 
houses along the bluff present a fine appearance. There is a fine park in the 
centre of the city. The streets are regular and broad. There are numerous 
handsome residences, with fine lawns and gardens. The river is deep enough 
to float the largest ships. The trade of Memphis is about $75,000,000 per 
annum. About 70 vessels belong to the port. It is a progressive city, and 
is now looked on as the coming commercial centre of the Southwest. 



136 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

The following is from the report of the President of the Taxing District of 
Shelby County : " The outstanding bonded indebtedness of the Taxing Dis- 
trict, issued in settlement of the old city indebtedness of every kind, is $3,186,- 
569.27, and against this we have assets deemed to be good of $721,751.97, 
which would leave a net debt, after these credits have been applied, of $2,464,. 
817.30. It is believed that the present financial statement is in two principal 
respects the most favorable that has, or could have been made in the past 
fifteen years, in that — ist, the debt of your municipal government is definitely 
known and fixed ; and, 2d, in that the debt is less than it has been in the past 
fifteen years. The success of the several measures inaugurated with a view to 
compromise and fund the debt of the old city of Memphis has been largely 
due to the active and efficient aid and co-operation of a number of prominent 
citizens." Population in 1870,40,226; 1886, 65,000. 



CITY OF PETERSBURG-. 

Petersburg is a port of entry of Virginia, on the south bank of the 
Appomattox River, 12 miles above its junction with James River, at City 
Point. It is 23 miles south of Richmond. Five railways contribute to make 
it the third city in the State in respect of population. Petersburg is well 
built. It contains churches of the Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, 
Baptists, and Catholics. There are here several cotton and woolen factories, 
forges, and numerous mills, to which the falls in the river furnish extensive 
power. In the campaign of 1864, Lieutenant-General Grant, commander of 
the Federal army, failing to take Richmond, besieged Petersburg, and was 
repulsed in several attacks by General Robert E. Lee, with heavy loss. Ample 
evidences of the operations in the vicinity are still to be seen. A leading 
point visited by tourists is the battle-field beyond Blandford church, where 
upon the brow of the hill, overlooking the ravine which separated the oppos- 
ing forces, is the confused yellow mass known as the " Crater" or mine, which 
was tunnelled by Union sappers and miners, and blown up in order to effect a 
breach in the Confederate line of defences. Many relics may be found around 
this portion of the field still. One turns with relief from a contemplation of 
this scene to the beautiful old ruin of Blandford church, a mossy relic long 
before the struggle between the North and South. Its hallowed churchyard 
contains the tombs of the bravest and best among the early people of colonial 
Virginia. 

Petersburg is the junction point with the Norfolk & Western Railroad 
leading to Suffolk and Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk. A side trip may be 
made by this route to Fortress Monroe, which, together with Newport News, 
has grown into a great winter and spring coast resort. In journeying swiftly 
southward through the great pine forests of North Carolina the tourist begins 
to realize the balmy influence and delightful somnolence that betokens his 



CITY OF DENVER. 



137 



approach to the land of spring. It is a temptation not to be resisted to open 
the window and lean contentedly back in a delicious dolce far niente, noting 
with listless interest the odd and amusing phases of life and types of Southern 
character to be seen at the stations we pass. Population in 1870, 18,950; in 
1880, 21,000; and in 1886, 23,200. 



CITY OF DENVER. 

Denver, the principal commercial city and capital of Colorado, is situated 
on the South Platte River, 15 miles east of the Rocky Mountains. Six 
railroads connect it with various parts of the continent. It is 5,000 or 
6,000 feet above the sea, occupying several levels ascending gradually 
toward the mountains. It commands a grand view of peaks covered with 
perpetual snow. Its commercial and manufacturing interests are making 
great strides, and its population is rapidly increasing. The climate is remark- 
able for its salu- 
brity, and in win- 
ter the weather is 
generally mild. 
Between July and 
October there is 
scarcely any rain. 
In 1858 the place 
was uninhabited. 
Now there are 
numerous fine 
public buildings, 
various manufac- 
tories, numerous 
smelting and re- 
fining works, a 
United States 
Mint, and many 
solid business 
structures. Its 
growth is remark- 
able. It has sev- 
eral national banks. The Denver & South Park and Pacific Railroad connect 
it with Leadville, a new city, only 8 or 10 years old, with a population of 
25,000, situated over 10,000 feet above the sea, and surrounded with rich silver 
mines, the product of which in one year is estimated at $[0,000,000. The 
entire State is pre-eminently a mineral district, and to this owes its wonderful 
growth. The population of Denver in 1870 was 4,759; in 1880, 35,000; and 




DENVER 



138 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

in 1886, 73,000. In some parts of Colorado there are occasional storms 
of wind and hail ; otherwise, " an air more delicious to breathe cannot any- 
where be found." 




^ merce 
'4 the 
^t h e 



CITY OF CHARLESTON. 

Charleston is the largest city and commercial emporium of South 
Carolina, and is one of the most important cities of the South. _ Columbia, 
which is situated on the Congaree River, 130 miles from Charleston, is the 
capital of the State, and has a population of i2,ooo. Charleston, which is a 
fine city and seaport, is situated between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, 
which here form a spacious harbor, extending 7 miles to the Atlantic. The 
city occupies about 5 square miles, and has a water front of about 10 miles. 
The commerce consists mostly of exports. The foreign commerce comprises 
exports to the value of about $23,000,000 annually, and imports to the amount 
of $150,000; of the exports about $18,000,000 is in cotton. There is also a 

large com- 
w i t h 
ports of 
gine United 
- States. The 
:^ manufactures 
^i as compared 
q with the com- 
'z merce are un- 
; important. 
: They consist 
j)rincipally of 
^ fertilizers 
J from p h o s- 
^phate ob- 
tained in the 
vicinity. The 
wholesale 
trade in dry- goods, boots and shoes, hats, caps, clothing, etc., is extensive. 
There are 12 banks, and 3 railroads terminate here. There is also a canal 
which connects with the Santee River. 

An atmosphere of interest, such as attaches to no other city of the South- 
ern land, will always seem perceptible to the stranger in Charleston. This is 
due to the important events, that, forming the overture of a long and terrible 
war, had their scene of action here. The scars of those days are still visible 
in many portions of the city, and to a still greater extent down the harbor, 
where the shapeless heap of stone and brick still gathers the mold of Time, 
where the gallant band that held Fort Sumter passed through their "baptism 



CHARLESTON. 




VIEWS IN AND AROUND THE CITY OP CHARLESTON, S. C. 

1. Institute Hall, 1861. 2. Characteristic Street Scene. 3. City Hall. 4. East Battery Promenada, 

5. Eatrance to Fort Sumter—reg-istering names. 6. Intcrit r of Fort Sumter. 

7. Fisherman's Basin. S. Fort Sumter. 



I40 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

of fire." Charleston has nearly outgrown her chastisement, and turns her 
scars to account by attracting thousands every winter who might otherwise 
never enter her borders. 

A single day, leisurely arranged, will enable the stranger to see all that is 
notable here. The battery, where many of the finest homes of the city front 
on the harbor, is a shady, well-kept place. St. Michael's spire, always open to 
visitors, gives a superb view of the city and harbor, with the surf breaking 
beyond historic Morris Island. The Mount Pleasant & Sullivan's Island 
Ferry Company run frequent boats to Sullivan's Island, where Fort Moultrie 
stands. A small boat will take the curious stranger over to Fort Sumter. 
Just beside the gateway of Fort Moultrie, enclosed by a small iron railing, is 
the grave of Oceola (often incorrectly spelled with an " s "), the Seminole, who 
once figured so prominently in national history — an implacable, proud, 
thoroughbred Indian, who died a prisoner within these walls. Magnolia 
Cemetery is well worthy of a visit. 

The Magnolia Gardens, upon the Ashley River, about 20 miles from the 
city, is one of the most lovely spots in the South. It is reached either by the 
daily excursion steamers or by train. We cannot too strongly urge the visitor 
to Charleston to devote a day to this lovely retreat whose beauties no illustra- 
tion could adequately portray. 

A pleasant side trip may be made from Yemassee, the junction of the 
Augusta & Port Royal Railroad, while en route between Charleston and 
Savannah to Port Royal and the ancient city of Beaufort; the former has 
developed a large shipping trade within a few years, and the latter enjoys the 
advantage of a good hotel. Population of Charleston in 1886, 63,000. 



CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. 

San Antonio is a city of Texas, 1 10 miles southwest of Austin. It is one 
of the oldest Spanish towns in America. No city in the Union is so peculiarly 
interesting as San Antonio. There are seven Catholic churches, in which 
services arc held in the English, Spanish, French, German, and Polish lan- 
guages. Mexicans jostle against Indians, and John Chinaman washes the 
linen of the commercial traveller. Visitors can eat at night on the plaza the 
strangely-made dishes prepared by the natives of Mexico. Strangers, while 
making purchases of curiosities in the shops, wonder at the massive thickness 
of the walls, and hear, with surprise, that 200 years ago or more the Spanish 
troops found shelter there from the attacks of the Indians. It is a strange 
country, within five days' rail from New York, and when travellers pause there 
a little for rest, while en route for California and Mexico, they will find that it 
is unnecessary to visit Europe in quest of those quaint old vestiges of a past 
generation, or those strange sights which the new world of the North does 
not afford. 



CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. 



141 



It is the county seat of Bexar County, Texas. It is situated on the San 
Pedro and San Antonio Rivers. It is probably the most important place in 
West Texas. The principal business streets are Commerce and Market, which 
run parallel from the principal square. The business portion has been mostly 
rebuilt since i860. About one-third of the population are Germans, and one- 
third Mexicans. It comprises three divisions, the city proper between the 
rivers; Alamo, which is east of the San Antonio .River; and Chihuahua, 
which is west of the San Pedro River. Alamo is mostly occupied by Germans, 
while the Mexican quarter is in Chihuahua. In the city proper there are 
many iine business buildings. In the Mexican quarter the houses are mostly 




A STREET IN SAN ANTONIO, 



built of stone and wood, and are only one story high. There is a public park 
on the banks of the San Pedro. The city contains an arsenal, a Roman 
Catholic Cathedral, College, and Convent, a Court-house, and banks. It is a 
centre of trade for the outlying country, the principal productions of which 
are wool, cotton, hides, and cattle. It has very important and growing manu- 
factures, and considerable water-power. The manufactures include extensive 
flour-mills, breweries, ice factories, etc. Invalids find the climate of San 
Antonio very desirable, as it is mild and genial. 

The place was settled by the Spaniards in 1714. The population at the 
present time is 25,000. In the Texan Revolution of 1836 it was the scene of 



142 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

the massacre of the Alamo, when a garrison of 150 men, led by Colonel Travis, 
and including David Crockett, was surrounded by several thousand Mexicans, 
and after a heroic resistance killed to the last man. 



CITY OF JACKSONVILLE. 

Jacksonville, Florida, is situated on the St. John's River, It is a flour- 
ishing city and the metropolis of the State. It is much resorted to by Northern 
invalids on account of the salubrity of its climate. In Jacksonville everybody 
seems on the move. Its street-corners are built up with hotels, and shops, 
and ticket-ofifices. It is a mart, and the sick man must needs partake of the 




BAY STREET, JACKSONVILLE. 

excitement if he stops here. Perhaps he needs diverting ; if so, let him stay. 
If rest is sought, he will do better to go up the river to some of the smaller 
points. Jacksonville has a score of hotels and a legion of boarding-houses. 
One-half of the population waits upon the other half. Bay Street, extending 
for a mile or more along the river, is built up closely, some of the structures 



CITY OF WILMINGTON. 143 

being large and costly. The hotels are chiefly of wood. The population of 
the city in 1880 was 18,000; in 1886 it is estimated at 25,000. It is a growing 
city, and great excitement prevails in the winter, when the place is full of 
invalids, not only from the North, but from various parts of the globe. 

Tallahassee is the capital of the State, and has a population of 4,000; St. 
Augustine, 3,000. Key West is built on an island of the same name ; the 
population is about 7,000. Pensacola has a population of about 5,000, which 
is about the same population as Fernandina contains. The productions of 
Florida consist of lumber, cotton, rice, cocoanuts, tobacco, sugar-cane, arrow- 
root, hemp, flax, coffee, oranges, lemons, bananas, limes, olives, grapes, and 
pineapples, which grow in great quantities and are of very fine flavor. Among 
the other products may be mentioned Indian corn, beans, sweet potatoes, 
peas, Irish potatoes, barley, buckwheat, hops, etc. 

Many of the people of the State have grown wealthy on the cultivation 
and export of oranges and other fruits. The manufacture of what is known 
as " Key West cigars " is an important industry, and has done much for the 
people of Key West. Game and fish are to be found in great quantities in 
all parts of the State. In the forests, rivers, and swamps deer, wild turkeys, 
partridges, geese, ducks, and other game abound in great quantities. On all 
the coast can be found green turtle, oysters, sheepshead, red fish, and mullet ; 
and in all of the inland waters can be found fresh-water fish in great variety. 
Sponges of a fine quality can be found in gr^at quantities along the reefs, and 
are a considerable part of the trade. The pasturage of the savannahs is 
unexcelled, cattle requiring very little attention, and are seldom housed in the 
winter. Key West was nearly destroyed by fire in the spring of 1886. 



CITY OF WILMINGTON. 

Wilmington is the principal commercial centre in Delaware ; it is a port 
of entry and the largest city in the State. It is situated at the junction of 
Christiana and Brandy wine Creeks, 28 miles from Philadelphia on the Phila- 
delphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, and is the terminus of the Wil- 
mington and Reading, and the Wilmington and Western Railroads. The 
buildings are mostly of brick, and the streets meet at right angles. Among 
the public buildings are the City Hall, Post-office, Custom-house, the Library 
and Institute, the Opera-house, and a large hospital. The city was incor- 
porated in 1832, and first settled in 1730. It has about 50 churches, numerous 
public schools, academies, banks, newspapers, a good fire department, police 
system, gas works, horse-cars, etc. 

The manufactures consist of iron steamships, railroad cars, locomotives, car- 
riages, paper, powder, agricultural implements, machinery, cotton and woolen 
goods, flour, boots and shoes, leather, and bricks, which are produced in great 
quantities. The annual products of the various factories have been estimated 
at $30,000,000. 



144 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



Wilmington is a very 4iandsome city, and has many picturesque water 
views. Its commerce with local cities is extensive. Its foreign exports and 
imports are mostly conducted through Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. 
Population, in 1870, 31,000; in 1880,42,500; in 1886, 60,000. 



CITY OF MOBILE. 

Mobile is the only seaport and the largest city of Alabama. It is situated 
on a beautiful plain, on the west side of Mobile River, at its entrance to Mobile 
Bay, which opens into the Gulf of Mexico. It is 141 miles from New Orleans, 
and 180 miles from Montgomery, the capital of the State. The city, which is 
elevated 16 feet above the highest tides, rises gradually from the river, and is 
laid out with fine, broad, shaded streets. It was originally settled in 1702 by 
the French, and for years it was the most important place in the Louisiana 

district. It 
was visited 
by famines 
and by epi- 
demics. At 
this period 
the settle- 
ment was lo- 
cated about 
8 miles south 
of its present 
site. In 1706 
the women of 
the place, be- 
ing dissatis- 
fied with In- 
dian corn as the principal article of food, revolted. This was known as the 
"Petticoat Insurrection." The place was nearly destroyed in 171 1 by a 
hurricane and flood ; the people then decided to move with their effects to a 
more desirable location, and selected the present site of the city. In 1763, at 
the Treaty of Paris, the city was ceded to Great Britain. After remaining in 
the possession of the British about 20 years it was ceded to Spain. In the 
War of 1 81 2 it was surrendered to General Wilkinson. It was incorporated 
as a city in 18 19, and during the Civil War was in the possession of the Con- 
federates. Admiral Farragut with his fleet sailed up Mobile Bay in August, 
1864, and the renowned engagement with the forts and the enemy's fleet took 
place ; the latter was destroyed or captured, and the forts surrendered. The 
remaining fortifications were carried by assault, and early in the following 
year the city surrendered. 

Mobile is lighted by gas, has numerous lines of horse railroads, and several 
railroads connect it with all parts of the country. It has a fine Custom-house 




MOBILE. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 145 

and Post-office, City Hall and Market-house, theatre. Odd Fellows' Hall, 
cathedral, 30 churches, 4 orphan asylums, several hospitals, a medical college, 
St. Joseph's College (a Jesuit institution), a Convent of the Visitation, and 
Academy for Young Ladies. Mobile has several ship-yards, foundries, and 
cotton-presses. The chief business is the export of cotton, timber, and naval 
stores. 

Mobile Bay is a handsome sheet of water, about 30 miles in length and 
about 12 miles wide; vessels drawing more than 163^ or 17 feet of water can- 
not reach the city except at high tide ; but improvements are now being made 
to a depth of 22 feet and 200 feet wide. Its cotton trade is only exceeded in 
the South by New Orleans, its exports of cotton for one year amounting to 
nearly $6,000,000, while its total exports were nearly $7,000,000; the imports 
are over $500,000 annually. There is a line of steamers between Mobile and 
Liverpool, and numerous vessels and steamboats engaged in the river and 
coast trade. Its traffic in naval stores and lumber is extensive. Its exports 
to foreign ports last year in lumber and timber were $617,000, and the value of 
rosin and turpentine product last year was $1,027,166. The city extends along 
the river five or six miles, and runs back about a mile and a half. Population, 
1886, 40,000. 

CITY OF NASHVILLE. 

Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, is situated on the Cumberland River, 
235 miles from its mouth, with steamboat navigation of over 400 miles above 
the city. It was made the State capital in 1826. The State House is a very 
handsome building, built of Tennessee stone, quarried within 300 yards of the 
building. It is located on an abrupt eminence in the centre of the city. It is 
112 by 239 feet, and is 206 feet to the top of tower. The corner-stone was 
laid July 4, 1845, and first occupied by the Legislature, October 3, 1853. The 
total cost was $1,500,000. The architect and the chairman of the Building 
Committee were by act of Legislature buried in vaults constructed within 
the walls of the northeast and southeast corners. 

Nashville is a handsome city, built on a series of hills affording ample 
drainage, and is noted for its enterprise, almost unparalleled growth since the 
war, and the culture and hospitality of its citizens. It has a very advantageous 
and well-arranged system of railroad facilities, and is the largest commercial 
city in the State. The amount of capital invested on January i, 1884, in the 
four leading cities in the State was $10,865,000, of which Nashville had 
$4,995,500, being nearly double either the others. There are 2,670 business 
firms and companies, of which 70S are engaged in manufacturing. The whole- 
sale trade of the city gives employment to about 700 commercial travellers. 
There are 120 incorporated companies and 10 street-car lines. There are 
employed within the limits of the post-office carrier delivery — not including 
railroad shops — about 5,300 mechanics and skilled workmen. During the year 
1883, $1,212,000 was invested in machinery within the above-mentioned limits. 



146 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

There are 3 cotton factories — one of which employs over 800 hands — and a 
woolen factory. This is the first hardwood lumber market in the United 
States, and the fifth general lumber market, having 25 saw and planing mills, 
and 33 firms engaged in the lumber business. It is the fifth boot and shoe 
market in the United States; the largest candy and cracker manufacturing 
city in the South, and does an enormous wholesale dry-goods, grocery, and 
drug business. In stoves and hollow-ware, Nashville's manufactures have a 
good trade as far west as California and north to Chicago, and have recently 
secured profitable Government contracts in competition with the best Northern 
and Eastern houses. Its flouring mills have a daily capacity of about 1,800 
barrels. It has a fine electric fire alarm and about 150 Brush lights. The 
local Telephone Exchange has 2,100 miles of wire in the city, supply- 
ing 1,300 telephones within the city limits, besides giving connection 
with 132 towns in Middle Tennessee. There is a fine electric time 
system, furnishing standard time from a central clock, with a service of 375 
clocks, and is rapidly increasing. The banking capital in national banks is 
$3,100,000, besides several private banks. The individual deposits in the 
national banks average over $4,000,000. The latest taxable valuation of prop- 
erty gives $570 to each inhabitant. The iron interests of the South are 
largely controlled here, one concern alone representing $10,000,000 capital 
employed in making coke and iron in Tennessee and Northern Alabama. 
The city is divided by the Cumberland River, which is spanned at this point 
by a new iron truss bridge, 639 feet long, 55 feet 7 inches wide, and double 
roadway. 

An eminent geologist and mineralogist has said, " that if a circle were drawn 
around Nashville, with a radius of 120 miles, and paths made to each degree 
of the circle, no of them would pass over inexhaustible and easily available 
deposits of iron." 

Among the prominent public buildings are the Court-house, 3 universities, 
hospital, Custom-house and Post-office, County Jail, Market-house, 2 theatres, 
a Masonic Temple, an Opera-house, State Penitentiary, Free Academy, 
Protestant and Catholic orphan asylums; 66 churches, of 12 denominations, 
47 white and 17 colored; 47 daily, weekly, and monthly publications. It 
has an extensive public school system, with 10 large buildings accommodating 
6,000 white children, and 4 buildings accommodating 2,000 colored children. 
The value of public school buildings is $230,000. Near the city are the State 
Lunatic Asylum, and the " Hermitage," once the residence of President 
Jackson. Nashville was occupied by the Federal troops in 1862, and here the 
Federal General Thomas gained a victory over General Hood. 

The city is noted for its handsome private residences. A very extensive 
system of water-works supplies the city with pure water from the river. The 
educational facilities are unsurpassed in the South. The F'isk University for 
colored teachers was founded in 1867, the Central Tennessee College for colored 
students in 1866, and the Vanderbilt University in 1875, named after the late 
Commodore Vanderbilt. The Nashville Medical College and numerous other 



CITY OF SAVANNAH. 



147 



institutions, including a State and Public Library, the Roger Williams Univer- 
sity, academies, seminaries, private schools, and business colleges, adorn the 
city. The place was first settled in 1779; incorporated as a city in 1806. 
Population in 1870, 25,865; 1880, 43,000; 1886 (within the postal carriers* 
delivery), 75,000. 



CITY OF SAVANNAH. 

Savannah is a fine city and port of entry of Georgia. It is situated 
on the right bank of the Savannah River, 18 miles from its mouth, 
and 90 miles from Charleston. It is greater than Mobile or Charleston 
as a port of commerce, and it is the largest port for shipment of 
naval stores in the United States. The principal trade of the State 
centres at this point, and consists mainly of cotton, rice, and lumber. 
Great facilities are afforded by the Savannah River for internal com- 
merce. A canal, 16 miles long, connects this river with the Ogeechee 
River. Nearly 
1,000 vessels 
enter and clear 
the port annu- 
ally, with an 
aggregate ton- 
nage of nearly 
1,250,000. 

Savannah is 
the beaii-ideal 
of an old-time 
Southern 
town. The 
visitor will fall 
in love with 
the shady 
vistas of the 
streets, and re- 
member with pleasure the parks set with monuments that alternate the 
squares. Bonaventure Cemetery is at once the saddest yet most charming 
spot one will encounter in a year of travel. The great live-oaks stretch their 
witch-like arms and join hands across the avenues, while from every branch 
and twig, like drapings of woe, depends the long and swaying Spanish gray 
moss. The Savannah hotels are large and well kept. The visitor will find a 
great deal at the rooms of the Georgia Historical Society to interest him. 
The scenes among the warehouses and clusters of shipping are extremely 
animated. 

Savannah is the terminal station of several railroads. The climate is very 
pleasant in winter, and is not considered unhealthy at any season. The city has 




S A V A N N All . 



148 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

a fine harbor, and the river is navigable as far as Augusta. It is built on a sandy- 
plain, 40 feet above the river, with broad streets shaded by beautiful trees. 
Its chief edifices are the Custom-house, City Exchange, Court-house, State 
Arsenal, theatre, St. Andrew's Hall, Oglethorpe Hall, nriarket, 3 hospitals, 
asylums, and Masonic Hall, where in 1861 the ordinance of secession was 
passed. The exports are about $50,500,000, consisting of cotton, rice, lumber, 
etc. The cotton exported annually amounts to 850,000 bales; imports, 
$1,000,000. Vessels of upward of 22 feet draught discharge and load three 
miles below the harbor. City expenditures for 1885, $595>325-22 ; balance on 
hand, $43,340.82 ; total bonded debt of the city, December 31, 1885, $3,737,200, 
at 5 per cent, per annum. 

Savannah is surrounded by marshes and islands, and on the river side is 
defended by Forts Pulaski and Jackson. It was founded in 1733 by the 
English General Oglethorpe. In 1776, a British fleet, attempting to take the 
town, was repulsed after a severe action; but it was taken in 1778, and held 
in 1789 against the combined French and American forces. In the late war, 
after many unsuccessful attacks by sea, it was taken by General Sherman in 
February, 1865. As a cotton port it is inferior to New Orleans only. The 
manufactures are not important, and consist of the products of foundries, 
planing and flouring mills, and a large cotton-mill. 

In the park is a Confederate monument ; and in Johnson Square an obelisk 
to the memory of General Greene and Count Pulaski. The Pulaski monument 
in Monterey Square is 55 feet high, of marble, surmounted by a Statue of 
Liberty, and is considered one of the finest works of the kind in the Union. 
The city has 35 churches, a Public Library, Historical Society, several banks, 
and an excellent school system. It has had two great fires, one in 1796 (loss, 
$1,000,000), the other in 1820 (loss over $4,000,000). Its Police and Fire 
Departments are very efficient ; the latter is now a paid department, reinforced 
by " call men." 

In Georgia the tops of the hills are mostly covered with forests of pine, 
oak, palmetto, ash, hickory, cypress, black-walnut, cedar, and mulberry. The 
agricultural products of the State are cotton, wheat and other grain, maize, 
tobacco, sugar-cane, indigo, rice, etc. Cotton is one of the great articles of 
commerce, as is also tobacco, indigo, canes, timber, maize, and deer-skins» 
The population of Savannah in 1880 was 33,000, and in 1886, 42,000. 



CITY OF ATLANTA. 

Atlanta is a port of entry, a fine city, and the capital of Georgia. It is 
called the " Gate City." It is destined to be a city of great importance, as it 
is the terminus of all the railroads of the State. There is little of the con- 
ventional South about Atlanta. The energy, persistence, and phenomenal 
growth of this city have won for it the sobriquet of the " Chicago of the South." 
The new Kimball House, built upon the hotel of the same name recently 
destroyed by fire, adds greatly to the already excellent hotel accommodations 




CITY OF ATLANTA. 

1. Ponce de Leon Spring. 2. U. S Custom House and Post Office. 3. In the Commercial Quarter. 
i. Union Depot. 5 Pcachtree Street. 



ISO PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

of the city. Its streets are laid out, or perhaps we should say wander, with i 
freedom from relation to the cardinal points of the compass, which should 
make Boston envious, but they are bright, wide, and shady streets. There is 
not a prettier avenue anywhere in the land than Peach-tree Street, which 
bears the same relation to Atlanta that Euclid Avenue does to Cleveland. 
The surrounding country, besides being rich in grain and cotton, contains 
gold, iron, and other valuable minerals. Atlanta was destroyed by General 
Sherman, November, 1864. 

The large negro population and the heavy traffic in cotton are almost the 
only features which proclaim Atlanta as a Southern centre. As the city has 
been chiefly rebuilt since the war, the prevalent styles of architecture are 
modern and pleasing. The United States Custom-house and Post-ofifice is a 
handsome structure in the heart of the city. Upon Washington and other 
leading streets there are many large and costly churches of several denomina- 
tions. 

After the war, Atlanta speedily recovered from almost complete ruin, and 
within two years had as great a population as when the war began. It 
became the capital of the State in 1868. Among the public institutions are 
the Oglethorpe University, the North Georgia Female College, the Atlanta 
Medical College, and the Atlanta University for colored students. 

From the high ground occupied by the McPherson Barracks, in the north- 
western portion of the city, a very fine outlook upon the city's environment 
may be had. Not far away is Kennesaw Mountain, the scene of much 
sanguinary fighting, and away to the north are the pale outlines of the 
Tennessee Mountains, famed through the names of Lookout, Mission Ridge, 
Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. Within the limits of the city and in its 
immediate vicinage are many huge yellow mounds, portions of the cordon 
of defences which extended around the city, upon which the grass has never 
grown. Atlanta is built on an elevated plateau, 1,100 feet above tide-water, 
and is singularly dry, cool, and healthy. 

Atlanta, unlike her sedate sister cities of the South, owes her rapid growth 
and commercial importance to her favorable position and her great spirit of 
enterprise. Her railroads have direct lines to all sections of the country. In 
the last ten years it has grown rapidly, and given great impetus to the new 
industries of the South. It has vast cotton-mills, and immense iron rolling- 
mills ; these give employment to a large number of persons. Population 
about 52,000. 

CITY OF ROCHESTER. 

Rochester is a commercial city and port of entry, situated on both sides 
of the Genesee River, 7 miles south of its entrance into Lake Ontario. It is 
the capital of Monroe County. It is 230 miles from Albany. It is located 
on an elevated site, which covers about 17 square miles. Its streets are 
shaded, and generally from 50 to loo feet wide. It is the terminus of the 



CITY OF UTICA. 151 

Rochester & Pittsburgh and numerous other railways. It is crossed by the Erie 
Canal and the New York Central Railway. Owing to its advantageous situation 
it has grown very rapidly ; by means of the Genesee it has easy access to the 
lakes, while its railroads and canals give it communication with the fertile coun- 
try by which it is surrounded ; besides, it has an immense advantage in water- 
power. The numerous falls of the Genesee River within its boundaries 
amount to 268 feet in perpendicular height. The upper falls of the Genesee, 
a cataract of 96 feet, are in the centre of the city; a mile or two below are 
two other falls, one 84 feet and the other 25. The river runs through a deep, 
gorge 120 feet high. As a result of this immense water-power it has become 
one of the principal markets of the flour trade, and has some of the largest 
flour-mills in the Union, besides numerous other extensive manufacturing 
establishments. 

Rochester was settled in 1810, and incorporated as a village in 1817. It 
was first laid out by Nathaniel Rochester, an American pioneer. It was 
incorporated as a city in 1834. The city is very handsome and well built. 
The canal crosses the river on a fine aqueduct containing seven arches. Main 
Street is the principal thoroughfare and promenade. It is in the centre of 
the city, and crosses the river, which is spanned by a substantial bridge. 

Among the principal buildings may be mentioned the County Court- 
house; the City Hall, with a tower 175 feet high; the high-school building, 
the Powers block, and the Warren Astronomical Observatory, the finest private 
observatory in the world. The University of Rochester occupies large buildings 
in the eastern part of the city. It was founded by the Baptists in 1850, and 
the grounds, consisting of 23 acres, are beautifully laid out. There are about 
70 churches, a fine public school system employing over 200 teachers, nearly 
50 public and private schools, a theological seminary, an athenaeum, hospitals, 
and reformatory. The nurser}' trade of Rochester has assumed vast propor- 
tions, and is not surpassed by that of any other place in the world. 

Mount Hope Cemetery is beautifully laid out, and is an ornament to the 
city. The population of Rochester was, in 1820, 1,502; in 1840, 20,191; in 
i860, 48,243; in 1870, 62,386; in 1880, 89,363; and in 1886, 115,000. The 
city expenditures in one year were $1,078,038, making about $i07>^r capita. 



CITY OF UTICA. 

Utica is a city of New York and county seat of Oneida County. It is 
situated at the junction of the Erie and Chenango Canals on the Mohawk 
River. It is 95 miles v/est-northwest of Albany. The city, regularly and 
handsomely built, rises from the south bank of the river on a gradual eleva- 
tion, the ground generally being level. Among its buildings are a city hall, 
United States Court-house and Post-office, opera-house, public halls, 34 
churches, large hotels, banks, cotton-mills, woolen-mills, a State lunatic 
asylum, Catholic and Protestant orphan asylums, academies, and schools. 



152 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

There are ii newspapers and periodicals, of which 2 are Welsh and i German. 
In 1813 it had a population of 1,700. It was incorporated as a city in 1832. 
At the period of the Revolution Utica was a frontier trading-post, -and the 
site of Fort Schuyler, built to guard the settlements against the French and 
Indians. 

It is connected with various parts of the country by the New York 
Central, the Utica & Black River, and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 
Railroads. Its principal business street is very handsome, and contains fine 
substantial blocks of buildings. It impresses a stranger with being a live, 
active place. It covers a large extent of territory. It has numerous public 
parks, a public library, and a mechanics' association. It is the centre of a 
rich dairy and farming district; it is the largest cheese market in America. 
Its manufactures consist of clothing, steam-engines, boots and shoes, pianos, 
agricultural implements, cotton and woolen goods, carriages, carpets, etc. 
Population, 1880, 34,000; 1886, 40,000. 



CITY OF aALYESTON. 

Galveston is the most important commercial city and seaport in Texas. 
It is situated in a county of the same name on Galveston Island, at the open- 
ing of Galveston Bay into the Gulf of Mexico. Its harbor is the finest in the 
State ; it has 14 feet of water over the bar at low tide. The bay extends 
north to the mouth of Trinity River, a distance of 35 miles, and is 12 to 18 
miles wide, and is a very handsome sheet of water. The island of Galveston 
is 28 miles in length, and about 2 to 3 miles wide. Its average elevation 
above the sea level is only 5 feet. The streets of the city are straight, 
spacious, and elegant ; and its principal buildings — the Roman Catholic 
University of St. Mary's, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, and the Episcopal 
Church — are large, imposing edifices of brick in the Gothic style. Galveston 
has 18 churches, 2 libraries, a convent of Ursuline nuns, a medical college, an 
orphan asylum, hospitals, over 10 miles of street railway, and a number of 
schools of various kinds. It has railroads connecting it with all parts of the 
country, and is connected by steamship lines with Liverpool, New Orleans, 
New York, and the coast towns of Texas as far as Mexico, and by sailing 
vessels with countries in Europe, Mexico, the West Indies, and South Amer- 
ica. The principal trade is the shipping of cotton (over 40 acres of ground are 
devoted to cotton presses and warehouses), hides, grain, pork, and beef. The 
foreign exports in one year amounted to nearly $18,000,000, and the imports 
to about $1,000,000. The city has good wharves, several ship-building yards, 
foundries, machine-shops, gas-works, railroad shops, daily and weekly news- 
papers, savings and national banks, etc. The island of Galveston was, from 
1817 to 182 1, the haunt of the pirate Lafitte, who was dislodged in the latter 
year. Plenty of vegetables and tropical fruits grow all the year round. 
Population in 1870, 13,818; 1880,26,000; 1886,45,000. 




GALVESTON. 



154 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

CITY OF DAYTON. 

Dayton is one of the most prosperous and wealthy cities of Ohio. It 
is situated at the junction of the Miami and Mad Rivers. It is connected 
with Cincinnati, on the Ohio, by the Miami Canal — the distance being 52 
miles. In the variety and extent of its manufactures Dayton stands foremost 
among Western towns in proportion to its size. Fine water-power is supplied 
by the river. The population has very rapidly increased. In 1850 it amounted 
to 10,976, having almost quadrupled within the preceding 20 years; in 1853 
it had risen to 16,562, showing an addition of more than 50 per cent, in three 
years; in i860 it amounted to 20,482; and 1870 to 30,473. It owes its pros- 
perity chiefly to the great number of railroads centering here, among which 
are the Atlantic & Great Western ; the Cincinnati, Hannibal & Dayton ; the 
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis; the Dayton & Union; the 
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis, and several others. It has a fine Court- 
house, a Public Library, several newspapers, 53 churches, a Catholic Institute 
for Boys; a National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors, situated in fine 
grounds, and other institutions. Many of the private residences are very 
handsome, and have elegant grounds. The streets are broad and well paved. 
It is in the midst of a rich agricultural district, in which limestone quarries 
abound. Population, 1880, 38,000 ; 1886,45,000. 



CITY OF WHEELING-. 

Wheeling is the largest city of West Virginia, a county seat, a port of 
entry, and the capital of the State. It is situated on the left bank of the 
Ohio River, at the entrance of Wheeling Creek, 60 miles by rail and 92 by 
river, below Pittsburgh. It is the largest commercial city between Cincinnati 
and Pittsburgh on the Ohio River. It extends 5 or 6 miles along the river 
on both sides of the creek. The city is built at the foot of the hills which rise 
to the Alleghanies, and is the terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio, and of the 
river division of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and numerous other railroads. 
The great national road here crosses the Ohio, over which is a wire suspension 
bridge, 1,010 feet long. 

Its manufacturing establishments are very extensive, and consist of iron 
foundries, glass works, blast-furnaces, forges, machine-shops, paper-mills, cigar 
factories, flour-mills, ship-building, etc. About 500 vessels belong to the port. 
Large quantities of bituminous coal are mined in the hills in the vicinity. 

The public buildings consist of the Custom-house, Post-ofifice, and United 
States Court Chambers, which are combined in one ; the State-house, the Opera- 
house, and Odd Fellows' Hall. It has a public library, a college for women, and 
several charitable institutions. It is the centre of an important trade. The 
place was first settled in 1772, and incorporated as a city in 1806. Population 
in 1870, 20,000; in 1880, 31,000; in 1886, 40,000. 



CITY OF READING.— SALT LAKE CITY. 155 



CITY OF READINa. 

Reading is a city of Southeast Pennsylvania, on the left bank of thq 
Schuylkill River, 58 miles northwest from Philadelphia, 55 miles northeast of 
Harrisburg ; it is at the junction of the Union and Schuylkill Canals. Three 
fine bridges span the river. It was originally set off by Thomas and Rich Penn 
in 1748, and incorporated in 1847. The streets cross at right angles, and the 
city is handsomely laid out. The business portion contains fine buildings, 
erected with great regularity. It is the centre of a very productive farming 
district, and has a considerable wholesale and retail trade. It has a handsome 
Court-house, an Academy of Music, a jail, several hotels, banks, well-organ- 
ized police and fire departments, numerous fire insurance companies, a public 
library, a Catholic academy, numerous public and private schools, a Catholic 
hospital, and several charitable institutions. It is pleasantly situated on an 
ascending plain, and is supplied with streams of pure water from a mountain 
behind it. Penn's Mount is on the east and Neversink mountain on the south. 

It publishes 12 newspapers. Its industries are rolling-mills, blast-furnaces, 
machine-shops, saw-mills, foundries, shoe factories, breweries, tanneries, rail- 
road shops, manufactories of cigars, cottons, woollens, flour, nails, bricks, 
paper, etc. It has an extensive trade in coal. Population in 1870, 34,000; 
in 1880, 43,300; in 1886, 51,000. 



SALT LAKE CITY. 

Salt Lake City is the capital of Salt Lake County and of Utah Ter- 
ritory. It is situated at the foot of the Wahsatch Mountains, in an immense 
valley, 4,350 feet above the sea level, on the east bank of the River Jordan, 
between Lake Utah, which is a beautiful body of fresh water, and Great Salt 
Lake, the latter being 12 miles distant. The city is connected with Ogden, the 
junction of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads, by the Utah 
Central Railroad, the distance being 36 miles. It is supposed that the valley 
in which Salt Lake City is situated was in prehistoric times a sea, which by 
convulsions of nature has been changed from its original level. The soil still 
holds in solution the salt of the sea. The streets are 128 feet wide and shaded 
with trees, and cross at right angles, forming 260 squares of 10 acres each. 
Two streams of pure water from the neighboring mountains, some of them 
10,000 feet high, flow through each street. The city is divided into 21 Wards, 
each of which has a public square or common. No drones are permitted in 
the city, as the Mormons are very industrious. They never seem to tire of 
work or making converts to their faith, and bring large numbers of converts 
from all parts of Europe. 

The "City of the Saints" was founded in 1847 by the Mormons, after a 



156 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



long and weary pilgrimage through forests and a wilderness that was far more 
extensive than that traversed by the descendants of Abraham after escaping 

from the bondage of 
Egypt. The dwell- 
ing-houses are chief- 
ly built of adobes or 
sun-dried bricks. 
Since the National 
Government has 
taken polygamy in 
hand polygamous 
wives are less nu- 
merous. The houses 
were generally built 
one story high, and 
were small ; but lat- 
terly many elegant 
residences have been 
erected. Each lit- 
tle dwelling is sur- 
rounded by its gar- 
den and orchard. 
The plates from 
which was written 
the Book of Mor- 
mon were discovered in 1827 by Joseph Smith, who founded the "Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" in Manchester, N. Y. The church was 
afterwards removed to Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and finally to Utah. 
Their system of government is admirable, as it considers the interests of all, 
and were it not for the practice of polygamy, there could be little objection 
raised to the Mormons, who are only carrying out the doctrines of the Old 
Testament. The administration of the Edmunds law, passed by Congress in 
1882, has put nearly two hundred Mormons in prison for terms varying from 
six months to three years, and made the practice of polygamy more unpopular; 
but it has seemingly neither destroyed nor shaken the Mormons' faith in the 
divinity of the principle of plural marriages. 

The principal business streets are Main, South Temple, and First South 
Streets, upon which there are several fine business blocks. Over one-fifth 
of the population are Gentiles and apostate Mormons, and since the laws of 
the United States against polygamy have been so rigorously enforced the 
latter are increasing. The city, which is not very imposing in appearance, is 
lighted with gas, and has numerous lines of horse railroads. The great Mor- 
mon Tabernacle, which is located on Temple Block, cost $150,000, and seats 
13,000 people. There are Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, and 
Congregational churches, a Public Library, Museum, City Hall, University, 




MAIN STREET, SALT EAKE CITY. 



CITY OF RICHMOND. 



157 



banks, hotels, halls, theatres, graded schools, newspapers, and periodicals. 
The city revenue amounts to about $175,000 annually; its debt, contracted 
to dig a canal for migation, etc., amounts to $225,000; its resources are 
more than $1,500,000 ; licenses for liquor-selling cost $1,200 per annum for 
each dram-shop. 

Salt Lake City is a growing centre of trade for the mining and agricultural 
districts. It is 650 miles from San Francisco, and 1,100 west of the Missis- 
sippi. The Warm Springs, which issue from a limestone rock at the foot of 
the mountains, are about one mile distant from the city, the health properties 
of the water being very beneficial to bathers. The Hot Springs are about a 
mile from this point. Population in i860, 8,236; 1870, 12,854; 1 880, 22,ooo; 
and in 1886, 30,000. 



CITY OF RICHMOND. 

Richmond is the capital of Virginia and a port of entry. It is situated on 
the north bank of the James River, at the head of tide-water, about 150 miles 
from its mouth. It is 100 miles south of Washington, picturesquely situated 
on the Richmond hills on the lower falls of the river. 

A trip from Washington to Richmond leads through the storied soil of 
Virginia; first along the broad Potomac, crossing numerous tide-water creeks, 
and affording many pleasant outlooks, then to historic Fredericksburg, where 
the tide of war surged so fiercely, and on through the rolling, well-tilled coun- 
try, meeting frequent villages, at one of which, Milford, a stop is made for 
meals, and then through 
Ashland, with its vener- l^i\, '^^^,\ 

able college buildings, be- 
yond which it is a short 
run to Richmond. 

The opportunity to visit 
and familiarize oneself with 
the many interesting his- 
toric points in the famous 
capital of the late Con- 
federacy is one which is 
eagerly seized by nearly 
all intelligent pleasure 
travellers going South for 
the first time, and thus it 

happens that there is a very general interchange of passengers at this point. 
One day devoted to the city of Richmond for rest and relaxation will suffice 
to give an intelligent idea of this centre of the great struggle^. 

A half day of pleasant driving through the broad and shady streets of the 
city to Hollywood Cemetery, one of the most beautiful places of sepulture in 
the land, would be a source of much pleasure and entertainment. A monu- 




STATE CAPITOL. 



CITY OF RICHMOND. 159 

ment of great interest is that which marks the grave of President James 
Monroe. Here also lies General J. E. B. Stuart, who commanded Lee's 
cavalry during the Rebellion ; while hundreds of Confederate dead rest within 
the cemetery. A drive to Libby Prison, and the score of lesser points famous 
in connection with the war, will prove a pleasant and instructive item oi 
travel. 

The fine Capitol Square, located in the heart of the city, contains 8 acres. 
Within the bounds are found the prominent and shapely structure of the 
State House, and the famous Washington Monument, as well as the statue of 
Stonewall Jackson. 

The city is regularly laid out and built, and surrounded with beautiful 
scenery. The Capitol is a stately building. Among the manufacturing estab- 
lishments, which give employment to nearly 6,000 hands, are large iron-works, 
machine-shops, foundries, sugar refineries, flour-mills, carriage-shops, tanneries, 
tobacco and cigar factories. The Tredegar iron-works, covering 15 acres, were 
employed for the manufacture of cannon during the existence of the Con- 
federacy, and are now among the most important iron-works in the country. 
The flour-mills are among the largest in the world. There are 10 insurance 
companies, 4 national banks, 6 State and savings banks. Richmond, when 
only a small village, in 1779 became the capital of the State. 

Richmond was founded in 1742. In 181 1 the burning of a theatre destroyed 
the lives of 70 persons, including the Governor of the State. It was here that 
the Convention to ratify the Federal Constitution met in 1788, and it has 
since then been the scene of many great political gatherings. On the 17th of 
April, 1 861, the State of Virginia seceded from the Union, and in July follow- 
ing the Confederate Congress met in Richmond, and made it the capital of 
the Confederacy. General Joseph E. Johnston at this time had 60,000 Con- 
federates under his command in Virginia, and from this time until the close 
of the war Richmond continued to be one of the principal points of attack by 
the Federal army under Generals McDowell, McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, 
Meade, and Grant, and defended by General Lee with a large army and 
formidable lines of fortifications, until the seizure of the lines of supply by 
Generals Grant and Sheridan compelled its evacuation after a series of 
sanguinary battles, April 3, 1865. During the evacuation of ApriJ 3, 1865, 
over 1,000 houses in the business portion of the city were destroyed ; the loss 
of this and other property destroyed amounted to over $8,000,000. Imme- 
diately after the close of the war rebuilding was begun, and proceeded rapidly. 

Spring Hill and Manchester are connected with Richmond by five bridges 
across the James River. Manchester is a busy place, and contains two large 
cotton-mills. A short distance from this famous city are several battle-fields. 
Two fine public parks are respectively at the east and west ends of the city. 
The celebrated Libby Prison and Castle Thunder (military prisons) are now 
used as tobacco warehouses. St. John's Episcopal Church is celebrated as the 
place of meeting of the Virginia Convention which decided the attitude of the 
Colony in 1775, and in which Patrick Henry made his celebrated speech, end- 



i6o PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

ing — " I know not what course others may take ; but as for me, give me 
liberty or give me death !" This church was also, in 1788, the place of meet- 
ing of the Convention which ratified the Federal Constitution. 

Numerous lines of railroad intersect at Richmond. Regular lines of 
steamers connect the city with Norfolk, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New 
York. Since the recent improvements in the river, vessels drawing 19 feet of 
water can load and unload at the docks. A canal round the falls gives a river 
navigable 200 miles, and a canal and several railways enhance its commercial 
importance. 

The city is handsomely laid out. The business section has solid and hand- 
some structures. The private residences are mostly surrounded by fine lawns 
and gardens. The river has much picturesque scenery. The State Library 
contains about 50,000 volumes and many fine historical portraits. The Custom- 
house and Post-ofifice occupy a fine granite structure. Near the Medical 
College can be seen the Brockenbrough House, which was occupied during 
the war by Jefferson Davis as his official headquarters. The population of 
Richmond at the present time is about 70,000. 



CANADIAN CITIES. 




CITY OF MONTREAL. 



.^ 'ONTREAL is the great commercial metropolis of Can- 
ada, and the largest city of British North Amer- 
ica. It is in the Province of Quebec, situated on 
,,^-.^^5 the Island of Montreal. This island is formed 
by the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers, and is ' 
separated from the mainland by the Back River, 
or, as the French prefer to call it, the Riviere des 
Prairies; it is i8o miles southwest of Quebec, and 



200 miles northeast of Lake Ontario, 406 miles north of New 
York, and 310 miles northeast of Toronto, 3,200 from Liver- 
pool, and 600 miles from the mouth of the St. Lawrence. 
Situated at the head of the ocean navigation of the St. Law- 
rence, Montreal has naturally become the depot for the 
exports and imports of all the Canadas. Its harbor admits 
vessels of 3,500 tons, and is 3 miles in extent. It is lined 
with wharves for a mile and a quarter, and is, from its inland 
position (90 miles above the influence of the tides), perfectly 
safe. At the same time, the obstruction to vessels sailing further up the 
river, caused by the rapids, has been surmounted by magnificent canals. It is 
in immediate connection with the vast lumber country adjoining the forrner 
river and its tributaries. While navigation is open, an extensive daily trafific 
is carried on by steamers and sailing vessels of every description with Lake 
Ontario and the Ottawa district, as well as with the lower St. Lawrence ; and 
the ships of several ocean steamship companies keep up a weekly communi- 
cation with Liverpool, while at the same time the harbor is constantly crowded 
with vessels from other foreign ports. 

After the navigation of the St. Lawrence is closed (December to April), 
the ocean steamers find a harbor at Portland, Maine, which is connected with 
Montreal by a railway of 292 miles. This line belongs to the Grand Trunk 
Railway Company, and crosses the St. Lawrence at Montreal by the celebrated 
tubular Victoria Bridge, the length of which, including its two abutments and 
24 piers, is above a mile and three-quarters. By the lines of the same com- 
pany, Montreal has railway communication with Upper Canada, the Western 
States, and Lower Canada, while the Intercolonial Railway opens up com- 
munication with Halifax and St. John. Several other lines, including the 
Canadian Pacific, afford communication with various parts of Canada and the 
United States. The position, therefore, of Montreal as a centre of commerce 

(161) 



I62 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



is perhaps unequalled, and its rapid advance in consequence has placed it, 
within the last few years, among the first commercial cities of the American 
continent. 

The most conspicuous building in Montreal, which is also one of the 

finest churches on the 

\i» oT ^ ST ^EBEc^^'l continent of America, 

~" "' is the Roman Catholic 

Cathedral. Built in the 
Gothic style of the 
thirteenth century, it 
comprises seven chapels 
and nine aisles. Its 
bells are famous, one 
of them being ranked 
among the five largest 
in the world. It accom- 
modates 10,000 people. 
It has numerous turrets 
and two imposing tow- 
ers on the main front 
which are 250 feet in 
height ; and its chief 
window is 64 feet high 
and 32 broad. There 
are several other Roman 
Catholic churches be- 
longing to the order of 
St. Sulpice, to whose 
members chiefly Mon- 
treal owes its founda- 
tion, and who still hold 
the seigniory of por- 
tions of the island on 
which the city is built. 
Adjoining the cathedral 
is the Seminary of St. 
Sulpice, to which a 
large addition has been 
built within the last few 
years at a cost of $40,- 
The city contains also some of the largest convents in the world. The 
general wealth, indeed, of the Roman Catholic Church in Montreal has grown 
enormous, in consequence of the increased value of the property given to 
it during the early settlements. The Church of England has a Cathedral 
erected at an expense of above $100,000, which is very chaste in style. St. 




000. 



CITY OF MONTREAL. 163 

Andrew's Church, the most important belonging to the Church of Scot- 
land, is also a very chaste specimen of Gothic architecture, and cost about 
$50,000. At about the same cost the Methodists have built a handsome 
church in the florid Gothic style. Besides the Roman Catholic College on 
Sherbrooke Street, St. Mary's College of the Jesuits, and a Baptist College, Mon- 
treal possesses an important university under the name of McGill College ; 
founded by a bequest of the Hon. James McGill in 181 1, erected into a 
university by royal charter in 1821, and reorganized by an amended charter 
in 1852. 

Montreal is supplied with water by magnificent works, which cost about 
$6,000,000. The water is brought from the St. Lawrence, above the Lachine 
Rapids, by an aqueduct 5 miles long. The eastern suburb of Montreal, now 
incorporated as one of the wards of the city, called Hochelaga, was originally the 
site of an Indian village of the same name, discovered in September, 1535, by 
Jacques Cartier; and it is from his admiring exclamation at the view obtained 
from the neighboring hill that Montreal (corrupted from Mont Royal) derives 
its name. The westernmost permanent settlement which the French obtained 
in Canada, it was, under them, merely an outpost of Quebec, and continued to 
be such, under British rule, till 1832, when it became a separate port. Since 
then, the rapidity of its progress has been marvellous. The annual imports 
are about $100,000,000, and the exports $90,000,000; the latter consist of flour, 
lumber, grain, furs, fish, oil, etc. The principal manufacturing industries con- 
sist of flour, type foundries, woolen and cotton goods, steam-engines, various 
kinds of iron-ware, tools, cordage, rubber goods, paper, furniture, etc. 

Montreal has its French quarter, as well defined as that of New Orleans, 
and its English quarter. The active centre of the French population surges 
around Bonsecours Market, a huge and stately building fronting upon the 
river, and up through Jacques Cartier Square. Upon Notre Dame Street, at 
Jacques Cartier Square, stands the Nelson Monument. The splendid mansions 
on Sherbrooke Street are chiefly occupied by English and Scotch merchants. 
Along the side of the " Mountain " there are magnificent mansions, which 
command a grand view of the surrounding country. 

The ** Bonaventure " is a " union " depot, and from thence arrive and depart 
Grand Trunk trains, the Central Vermont, Southeastern, and other lines. The 
North Shore Line has its depot (Quebec route) at the other end of the city, 
fronting on Notre Dame Street. Montreal is a festive town; is very proud of 
its battalions of volunteers, and takes keen delight in the achievements of its 
lacrosse and snow-shoe clubs. The mid-winter carnival is now a fixed institu- 
tion ; and it is really a fact, that to see the city under its most favorable con- 
ditions, one must visit it in January or February. 

The stranger who wanders along the business streets, if observant, will 
note the air of soFidity imparted to the structures. They are largely built of 
stone, and look as though they might endure for ages. McGill University 
ranks as one of the leading educational institutions of the Dominion. Its fine 
buildings and extensive grounds are located in the upper portion of the city. 



i64 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

The great Allan liners give dignity to the water-front views, and the vessels of 
half a dozen lesser lines are clustered along the wharves. In 1840 the popula- 
tion of Montreal was 27,000; in 1850, 53,000; in i860, 88,000; 1870, 105,000; 
1880, 125,000; 1886, 160,000. 



CITY OF QUEBEC. 

Quebec is a fine commercial city in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It 
is considered the most important military position in British North America. 
It is situated at the junction of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles Rivers, on a 
steep ridge or promontory formed by the rivers. It is 180 miles northeast of 
Montreal, 500 miles northeast of Toronto, 578 miles north-northeast from New 
York, 360 miles from the sea, and 2,070 miles from Liverpool. The Grand 
Trunk Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the Quebec Central Rail- 
way, connect it with the systems of railroads in Canada and the United States. 
It is being connected with the Lake St. John Region by a railway of 180 
miles, of which 90 are completed. 

In 1534, under the patronage and direction of Francis I. of France, the 
navigator, Jacques Cartier, started from St. Malo with three ships upon an ex- 
ploring voyage, entering the river St. Lawrence upon the festival day of the saint 

of that name, and upon the 14th of Septem- 
ber reaching the bold promontory where the 
citadel stands, under the shadow of which 
he found the Indian village of Stadacona, a 
name popular with the people to this day. 

Nearly a century later, in the year 1608, 
Samuel de Champlain appeared upon the 
scene, and Quebec had its real beginning. 
Champlain also found and named the Riche- 
lieu River, after Cardinal Richelieu, the 
founder of the trading company of " One 
Hundred Associates," under whose direction he operated. He also found the 
Ottawa and the American lake that still bears his name. He introduced the 
order of the R^collet Friars into Canada, and these were followed quickly by 
the more powerful and enterprising Jesuits, who toiled with that heroic ardor 
which has the mainspring only in faith, among the Indians and settlers, uniting 
the clerical office with that of the explorer. 

In 1663 the population of Quebec was but 800 souls, and about this time 
Louis XIV., the reigning monarch, assumed control of the colony of New 
France, and the trading company lost its prestige. It continued to be the 
centre of French trade and Roman Catholic missions in North America till 
1759, when it fell into the hands of the British by the memorable victory of 
Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham above the city, — Wolfe, the English com- 
mander, whose character, portrayed so vividly in the " Virginians," has 




CITY OF QUEBEC. 



165 



charmed the readers of a generation. He came to extend the dominion of the 
British crown. Wolfe and his veteran Highlanders and Grenadiers scaled the 
precipitous heights, and fought upon the Plains of Abraham against the 
soldiers of Montcalm, and the tourist of to-day sees behind the superb Dufferin 
Terrace a unique monument, probably the only such shaft in the world, in 
joint memory of the two opposing generals who fell upon that day. Fifteen 
years later, Arnold, the destined traitor and bete noire in the historj' of the 
Revolutionary period, coming down the valley of the Chaudiere, and Mont- 
gomery by Lake Champlain, joined in the siege of the city. Montgomery 
was killed at the first assault, and Arnold's subsequent efforts were abortive. 
Quebec remained the chief city of Canada till the British settlements in the 
west were erected into a separate province, when it became the capital of 
Canada East, now forming the Province of Quebec. 

Quebec is the Gibraltar of America, and its picturesque old-world battle- 
ments, its impracticable streets, its landmarks of history still abundant, and 
its un-Anglo-Saxon ways attract the attention of the tourist. The walled 
portion of Quebec is triangular in shape and three miles in circumference. 
The wall is pierced by five gateways; three of these communicate with the 
lower town. St. Louis Gate, nov/ a beautiful Norman structure, leads to the 
battle-field, while St. John's Gate is the outlet to Beauport and St. Rochs. 
The gate by which strangers enter the upper town from trains and boats was 
removed some years ago to facil- 
itate travel. The leading attrac- 
tions within the walls are the 
Ursuline Convent, the Seminary, 
the great Laval University, the 
English and French cathedral 
(Basilica), and above all, the out- 
look from the Dufferin Terrace. 

The highest point of the 
city is Cape Diamond, on which 
is built the citadel, about 350 
feet above the water. From 
this point it extends or slopes 
down to the river St. Charles. 
The upper and lower towns are so 
named on account of the differ- 
ence in elevation. Quebec is only 
second to Montreal in Canada in the importance of its commerce. About 
600 vessels enter the port annually from the Atlantic Ocean, and as many pass 
in front of the city to go to Montreal. It is one of the great lumber and 
timber markets of North America. The imports amount to $8,000,000, and 
exports $13,000,000, annually. Ship-building is conducted on an extensive 
scale. The chief industries are the boot and shoe and the leather manu- 
factures. It has lines of steamers connecting with Liverpool, Glasgow, and 




i66 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

London, and numerous lines with the gulf, coast, and river towns. The 
view from the citadel of Quebec is one of the most magnificent in the 
world, and the scenery in its neighborhood, amidst which are the Falls of 
Montmorcnci, adds greatly to the attractions of the city. It contains a 
seminary for the education of Catholic clergy, established in 1636. Quebec is 
the seat of a Catholic archbishop, who is now Cardinal Taschereau, and an 
Episcopal bishop, whose respective cathedrals are among the finest specimens 
of church architecture. The Church of Scotland and other denominations are 
also represented. Population in 1871, 59,699; 1886, 75,000. 



CITY OF ST. JOHN. 

St. John, the capital of St. John County, is the commercial metropolis 
and largest city of New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of 
the river of its own name, 190 miles northwest of Halifax. The harbor, which 
is protected by batteries, is good, and accessible to the largest vessels at all 




ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK. 

seasons of the year. The entrance of the river into the harbor is through a 
rocky gorge, about a mile above the city, spanned by a fine suspension bridge, 
640 feet long and 90 feet above the water; also by a cantilever railway bridge, 
completed since 1885, by which a direct line of travel is established, as formerly 
all passengers and baggage hnd to be transferred from the Intercolonial Rail- 
way to the New Brunswick Railroad by ferry. The streets arc wide, and meet 



CITY OF KINGSTON. 167 

at right angles. Some of them are cut 30 or 40 feet deep through solid rock, the 
city being built on a rocky peninsula, slanting down to the water. Since the 
great fire the buildings constructed are mostly brick or stone. The principal 
public buildings are the Court-house, the Insane Asylum, Post-ofifice, City 
Hospital, City Hall, Opera-house, Academy of Music, Roman Catholic Cathe- 
dral, the Barracks, the Mechanics' Institute, and the Penitentiary. The city 
has a fire department, a police force, a system of water-works, gas, horse-cars, 
a fire-alarm telegraph, about 40 churches, several schools, banks, academies, 
orphan asylums, newspapers, good hotels, a Natural History Society, a His- 
torical Society, etc. 

The city is governed by a Mayor, and eighteen Aldermen. It is con- 
nected with the New England States by the New Brunswick Railroad, and 
with Nova Scotia by the Intercolonial Railroad. In June, 1877, a fire destroyed 
the greater part of the town, and caused a loss of about $12,000,000. The 
principal industries are ship-building, fisheries, and the lumber trade. The 
manufacture of machinery, boots and shoes, cotton and woolen goods, leather, 
carriages, edge-tools, paper, iron castings, steam-engines, etc., is carried on to 
a considerable extent. The exports, which average annually $4,000,000, are 
principally lumber shipped to Europe, the West Indies, and the United States. 
The imports are about $8,000,000 annually. Population in 1871, 28,805 "» 1886, 
with suburbs, 55,000. The population of St. John County is mostly of Irish 
descent. 



CITY OF KING-STON. 

Kingston is a city in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It is situated on 
the northeast shore of Lake Ontario, where the waters of the Canadian lakes 
issue into the St. Lawrence. Distant from Montreal 198 miles, from Toronto 
165 miles, and from New York 274 miles. It was occupied by a French fort 
from 1673 till 1758; it began to be settled by the British about 1783, was laid 
out in 1793, was incorporated as a town in 1838, and as a city in 1846. On the 
union of the two Canadas, in 1840, the seat of government was established at 
Kingston, but was removed again in 1845. The harbor of Kingston affords a 
most imposing and effective picture. In the midst of the scene a storm- 
washed Martello tower rises from the water, and beyond it is a granite battle- 
ment, upon the mainland behind which rises the shapely form of the City 
Hall. The public buildings of Kingston are all excellent examples of archi- 
tecture. Across the channel is Wolfe Island, which is connected with the city 
by a ferry. Upon a prominent hill to the right is the large defensive work 
known as Fort William Henry, and near it the Military College, which is the 
West Point of Canada. There is a decided military air to Kingston, due to 
this fact. The Thousand Islands begin about Kingston, and continue for 
some 50 miles down the river, and steamboats run daily from the city to the 
popular summer resorts among these Islands. 



i6] PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS.. 

The ship-building of Kingston is second in Canada only to that of Quebec. 
The Canadian Engine & Machinery Company manufactures railway rollng- 
stock on the most approved principles. Besides it there are several large 
foundries for the manufacture of engines and locomotives, of agricultural 
implements, edge-tools, axles, nails, etc. There are also large tanneries and 
breweries. Besides its outlets by water, Kingston communicates with all parts 
of the country by the Grand Trunk Railway, which passes within 2 miles of 
the city, and connects by a branch with the wharves ; and by the Kingston 
and Pembroke Railway, which connects with the Canada Pacific. The shops 
and offices of the Kingston and Pembroke Railway are in Kingston. Next to 
Quebec and Halifax, Kingston is the most important military position in 




^iUPM. I. .1.»^rrk^r„..^.Mlu-,^i,M: 






KINGSTON FROM FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 



British America. Queen's University and College at Kingston is one of the 
most popular and progressive of the great educational institutions of Canada. 
It was incorporated by royal charter in 1841, for the education of a Pres- 
byterian ministry, and has since instituted the additional faculties of law and 
medicine. There are also a Catholic institution called Regiopolis College, the 
County Grammar School, and the common schools, besides several private 
academies. The Provincial Penitentiary and the Asylum for the Insane, and 
local hospitals and homes for the poor are situated in the city. In 1862 Kings- 
ton became the seat of the new English bishopric of Ontario. Many beau- 
t;ful homes adorn the suburban avenues. Population in 1871, 12,407; 1886, 
20,000. 



CITY OF TORONTO. 



169 



CITY OF TORONTO. 

Toronto, a port of entry and the capital city of the Province of Ontario, 
Canada, is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, 165 miles from 
Kingston, and 320 miles southwest of Montreal. It is connected with Canada 
and the United States by the Grand Trunk Railway and numerous other 
lines. Its industries are extensive, and consist of iron foundries, rolling-mills, 
car-shops, breweries, distilleries, machine-shops, carriage factories, soap works, 
tanneries, boot and shoe factories, flour-mills, cabinet-ware, and iron rails. It 
is over 2 miles in length between east and west, is bounded on the south by 
the Bay of Toronto, a spacious inlet of Lake Ontario, and is 1% miles broad 
from south to north. The situation of the town is low and flat. The most 
elevated quarter — the Queen's Park in the west, containing the University, 




TORONTO UNIVERSITY. 



Observatory, and handsome private residences — being only from 100 to 200 
feet above the level of the lake. The harbor or bay is a beautiful sheet of 
water, about 5 miles long and i mile in width. It is separated from the lake 
by a long, narrow strip of land, except at its entrance. It is capable of accom- 
modating the largest vessels that navigate the lakes, and is defended at the 
entrance by a fort, mounted with the most efficient modern ordnance. 

Toronto has much the appearance of an English town, and is distinguished 
for the number and beauty of its churches, many of which are surmounted by 
handsome spires. The principal are St. James' Cathedral (Anglican), a noble 
edifice in early English, erected in 1852; St. Michael's Cathedral (Roman 
Catholic); Knox's Church and St. Andrew's (Presbyterian); the Metropolitan 
(Methodist); and the Unitarian Chapel. Toronto is the fountain-head of the 
Canada school system, and its educational institutions are numerous and well 
appointed. The University, charmingly situated in the well-wooded Queen's 



170 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Park, was inaugurated in 1843. Trinity College and the Upper Canada College 
have numerous students. Knox's College, recently built, is the Presbyterian 
thcolof^ical hall. The University Park, with its beautiful monument to the 
volunteers who fell at Ridgeway, and the Horticultural Gardens, are frequented 
by all classes of the community. There are also the Normal and Model 
Schools, in the first of which teachers exclusively are trained. Attached to 
the University is the Observatory. There are many benevolent institutions 
and handsome official buildings. It is the seat of the Supreme Courts of the 
Province, and contains the Legislative buildings, the Government-house, the 
Custom-house, and the Post-of^ce. There are two large theatres in Toronto. 
During open navigation magnificent steamers ply in all directions on the lake. 
The exports are manufactured lumber, flour, wheat, and other grain. 

The name Toronto is supposed to be of Indian origin. The town was 
founded in 1794 by Governor Simcoe. It was incorporated in 1834, was 
burned by the Americans in 1813, and suffered severely in the insurrection of 
1837, on which occasion it was the headquarters of the rebellion, as also from 
fire in 1849. Population in 1870, 56,000; 1886, 80,000. 



CITY OF HAMILTON. 

Hamilton is a city in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It is situated on 
Hamilton Bay, formerly Burlington Bay, at the west end of Lake Ontario. It 
is 38 miles from Toronto, 378 miles from Montreal, and 43 miles from Niagara 
Falls. It is an important railroad centre ; the Hamilton & Port Dover, the 
Great Western, and the Hamilton & Toronto all radiate from this point ; 
while she has by the great lakes and rivers water communication from 
Chicago, Duluth, and Fort William at the West to the Atlantic. It is situated 
in the midst of the finest agricultural district. In 1840 the population was 
3,000; six years later the population was nearly 7,000, and a city charter 
was obtained. This rapid increase is due to the railroads and the grain 
district in which it is situated. Its manufacturing establishments are exten- 
sive, and comprise steam-engine and locomotive works, large iron works, car 
works, foundries, clothing, sewing-machines, etc. The last census of Canada, 
taken in 1881, shows that the capital invested is nearly one-thirty-fourth of 
the whole capital invested in manufacturing industries throughout the whole 
Dominion. * 

The merchants of Hamilton organized a Board of Trade in 1845, which 
has done much for the prosperity of the city. Imports, 1885, $4,095,032. 
Since 1881 several new factories and workshops have been built, including a 
cotton factory, running 12,000 spindles. The mills and plant of this company 
cost S475.OOO' ^^^ their output last year was nearly 2,225,000 yards of cloth, 
and 225,000 pounds of yarn. These mills employ 390 hands, their annual pay 
list being $104,000. A new rolling-mill, established last year, has a capital of 
$50,000, and employs 30 hands; annual output, $175,000. New and larger 



CITY OF OTTAWA. 



171 



shops have been erected for the chief engine works of the city, and a new 
factory has also been built by the Wanzer Company for the manufacture of 
their sewing-machines. Since 1861 that company has made in Hamilton 
1,500,000 sewing-machines. Their business extends to all countries of the 
world. Their output of machines has reached 1,500 per week. 

The city has 33 churches, 7 banks, and a large insurance company; a 
Young Men's Christian Association, and a fine public school system, with 
5,000 pupils and loo teachers. The Collegiate Institute and Training College 
has 600 students, with 15 masters and teachers. There are also 5 separate 
Catholic schools in Hamilton, and a Methodist College for young women; 
numerous charitable institutions, the Hamilton Association for Investigating 
Natural History, Botany, etc., and private institutions for commercial and 
business training. The assessed value of property last year was ;^4,0O0,O0O 
sterling. Population in 1886, 41,000. 



CITY OF OTTAWA. 

Ottawa is the capital of the Dominion of Canada. It is situated in the 
Province of Ontario, 88 miles above the junction of the Ottawa River with 
the St. Lawrence, 450 miles from New York, 126 miles from Montreal, and 95 
miles from the city of Kingston. It was incorporated as a city in 1854. 




CHAUDIERE FALLS. 

Prior to this it was called Bytown, in honor of Colonel By, who constructed 
the Rideau Canal in 1827. The scenery in the vicinity is very beautiful, and 
not surpassed by any in Canada. In the neighborhood are three magnificent 
cataracts. The first of these is the Chaudiere Falls, on the Ottawa River, at 
the west end of the city. The falls at this point are spanned by a suspension 
bridge, connecting Upper and Lower Canada. Its great industry is lumber, 
its immense water-power being made use of in numerous saw-mills. The 



172 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

imports are about ^^500,000, and the exports nearly i^ 1,000,000, annually. In 
1858 Ottawa was selected by Queen Victoria as the capital of Canada. The 
erection of magnificent Government buildings was commenced in i860, the 
Prince of Wales laying the foundation. The Parliament buildings are prob- 
ably as fine as any in America. The principal railroads are the Canada 
Central lines and the St. Lawrence & Ottawa. It is connected by steamer on 
the Ottawa River with Montreal ; the Rideau Canal connects the city with 
Lake Ontario at Kingston. It derives its chief importance from being the 
seat of the Government. The natural beauty of its surroundings and its fine 
architectural structures attract the tourist. Population, 35,000. 



CITY OF HALIFAX. 

Halifax, a seaport and city of Canada, and the capital of the Province of 
Nova Scotia, stands on the southeast or outer coast of the peninsula. The har- 
bor is one of the finest in the world. It is entered from the south, extends north- 
wards about 16 miles, and terminates in a magnificent sheet of water called 
Bedford Basin, is spacious enough for the entire navy of England, and offers 
all the year round easy access and safe anchorage to vessels of any magnitude. 

Lines of steamers ply between Halifax and London, Liverpool, the Con- 
tinent of Europe, New York, Boston, and the West Indies. It is the great 
centre of trade for the Maritime Provinces of Canada. A large stone grading 
dock is now being constructed which can accommodate the largest class of 
ocean steamers and war-ships. 

Halifax with its suburbs extends along the slope of a hill, and is over 
three miles in length, and averages about a mile in width. There are many 
beautiful residences on the Northwest Arm which runs from the harbor three 
miles inland. The dock-yard, covering fourteen acres, is one of the most ex- 
tensive in the British Empire. A number of British war-ships are generally 
moored off this dock-yard. The city is now the stronghold of the Imperial 
Army and Navy in North America. All the entrances to the harbor bristle 
with batteries armed with the heaviest ordnance, and garrisoned with British 
Artillery. 

The principal edifices are the Custom-house and Post-ofiicc, the Province 
Building, Dalhousie College, Government House, Military and Provincial 
Hospitals, Admiralty House, Lunatic Asylums, Schools for Blind and Deaf 
and Dumb, and several fine Common schools. Penitentiary, Court-house, 
Academy of Music, a New City Hall, etc., etc. There are 25 churches, a R. C. 
Cathedral, and residences for an Episcopal Bishop and a R. C. Archbishop. 
It has three sugar refineries, a cotton factory, several boot and shoe factories, 
and a number of minor industries. There are seven Banks and a Government 
Savings Bank. Halifax has railway communication with the whole continent. 
It is the winter port of the Intercolonial and Canada Pacific Railways. It 
enjoys unrivalled shipping facilities and has a grain elevator. The parks and 
public gardens arc famed for their beauties. Population about 40,000. 



CITIES OF LONDON AND ST. JOHN'S. 



173 



CITY OF LONDON. 

London is the chief city of the county of Middlesex, Ontario, Canada. It 
is situated at the junction of the two branches of the River Thames, about 
114 miles west-southwest from Toronto, with which it is connected by the 
Great Western Railway. The site of the city began to be cleared and laid 
out in 1825; in 1852 the population was 7,124. When the city was called 
London, the river, which had formerly been known by an Indian name, 
received that which it now bears ; a Westminster and a Blackfriars bridge 




LONDON, ONTARIO. 

were thrown over it ; and the names given to the principal streets and locali- 
ties still seem to indicate a desire to make the westernmost city of Canada a 
reproduction, as far as possible, of the capital of England. It has an outlet 
by railway to every part of the American continent. The centre of a rich 
agricultural district, London carries on a large trade in the produce of the 
country, Vv'hile there are also many foundries, tanneries, breweries, printing- 
ofifices, and. outside the city, large petroleum refineries. Huron College, 
Hellmuth College, and Hellmuth Ladies' College are the principal educational 
institutions. Population in 1886, 30,000. 



CITY OF ST. JOHN'S. 

St. John's is a city and the capital of the Island of Newfoundland. It is 
situated on the east coast of the island, which is about 400 miles long and 300 
wide at the extreme points. The city is 2,000 miles from Liverpool, 540 from 
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and 900 from Quebec. It has an excellent harbor, which 



174 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

is well fortified. Being the nearest port in America to Galway, Ireland (dis- 
tance, 1,650 miles), St. John's has acquired importance in the commercial and 
political world in connection with steam navigation between the two conti- 
nents. It has suffered severely from repeated conflagrations ; in 1846 it was 
more than half destroyed. 

At the entrance to the harbor are the Narrows ; on the north side of the 
Narrows is a cliff over 300 feet high ; back and above it is Signal Hill, 520 feet 
above the sea level. On the other side of the Narrows is a hill, 650 feet above 
the sea, on which is a lighthouse. The Narrows will admit only one vessel at 
a time. The latter ridge of hills extend into the interior for miles. The city 
is built of brick, and is well situated on sloping ground on both sides of the 
harbor. Bridges and causeways connect the north and south sides. Over 
1,200 vessels enter the harbor annually, having a tonnage of 250,000. There 
is a dry-dock and marine railway. The business portion of the city is solid 
and substantial. It has several banks, 12 churches, several convents, 20 insur- 
ance companies, various societies, benevolent organizations, academies, colleges, 
theological institutions, a medical society, an athenaeum, 2 libraries, 13 news- 
papers, and 2 fine cathedrals (one each. Catholic and Episcopal). Among the 
public buildings may be mentioned the Government-house, the residence of 
the Governor, which cost $250,000; the Assembly building, the Court-house, 
the Public Hospital, and Market-house. The island, with the coast of Lab- 
rador, forms an English colony, and is administered by a Governor, assisted 
by an Executive Council, a Legislative Council of 15 nominated by the Crown, 
and an Assembly elected by the popular vote ; these also govern the city. 
The Allan line of European steamers has a station at this city. Its manu- 
factures consist of ship-bread, furniture, boots and shoes, iron-ware, and nets. 
It has large storehouses, distilleries, tanneries, breweries, refineries, block 
factories, and steam seal-oil works. A large trade is done in exporting oil, 
seal, and cod. Its principal business is connected with the fisheries. It 
receives the large imports of the colony. Regular lines of steamers connect 
with the harbors on the coast. Population in 1874, 25,000; 1886, 40,000. 




BKIDAL VKIL FALLS, y( )Si;.M 11 K YALLKY. 



OUR AMERICAN SCENERY. 




THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 

'WO tracts of land have been set aside by Congress as 
National Parks. They were reserved by reason of their 
natural beauty and picturesque character, and are for 
the use in common of the entire people, except for 
settlement or private use. They include the Yellow- 
stone region and the Yosemite Valley. The latter was 
granted by Congress to the State of California (March 
30, 1864), "to be set aside forever as a place of public resort 
and recreation." It is in Mariposa County, California, and 
includes the Mariposa Big Tree Grove. It is nearly 150 miles 
from San F"rancisco, and almost in the centre of the State. 
The Valley is nearly a mile wide and 6 miles long, and nearly 
level. It is about a mile in perpendicular depth below the 
surrounding level, yet 4,000 feet above the sea, and through it 
flows the Merced River. Its walls are almost vertical. There 
are numerous well-supplied hotels for the accommodation of 
tourists. The first great object of interest in proceeding up 
the Valley is the Bridal Veil Fall, which is formed by the great leap of the 
Bridal Veil Creek over a descent of 630 feet to a slope from which a series of 
cascades extend to the Valley. The entire fall is nearly 1,000 feet. The next 
great object of interest is the " Cathedral Rock," an immense granite formation 
nearly 3,000 feet in height, which is situated a little above the fall. A little 
farther on are the " Spires," which consist of single columns of granite, 500 
feet in height, standing out from the main walls of the Valley. " Sentinel 
Rock " is over 3,000 feet high. Other important objects of interest are the 
"Sentinel Dome " and the "Virgin's Tears Fall"; the latter is a beautiful 
cataract, falling more than 1,000 feet. Next are monster masses of rock, 
known as " El Capitan " and the " Three Brothers." The Yosemite Fall is 
above the latter, and has a descent of over 1,500 feet. Next is a series of 
magnificent cascades, falling nearly 700 feet, with a final descent or plunge of 
400 feet. The effect of this beautiful sight is grand and imposing to an extent 
almost beyond description. The best time to see the falls is in May, June, or 
July, as the streams which form them nearly dry up in August and September. 
Other great eccentricities of Nature, with smaller falls, abound in the Valley. 
The general effect is grand and sublime, and surpasses anything known to 
exist in other localities. The Mariposa groves of " big trees " are about 
15 miles south of the Yosemite Valley ; three of these groves are in Mariposa 
County, and include nearly 150 trees more than 15 feet in diameter. Many of 

(177) 




Uri'KIi ll'LLoW-SlOXE FALLS. 



THE YELLOWSTONE REGION. 179 

them are nearly 400 feet in height and over 30 feet in diameter. Some of 
them after being cut down have been estimated to be 2,500 years old. The 
Yosemite Valley was first visited by tourists in 1855, and was not known to 
white men until 185 1. At the present time thousands visit this beautiful 
region annually, and come away impressed with its grandeur and sublimity. 



THE YELLOWSTONE REGION, 

The Yellowstone River rises in a beautiful lake of the same name high up 
in the Rocky Mountains, and receiving numerous branches from the south, 
flows northeasterly through the Territory of Montana, and empties into the 
Missouri River, in the northwestern part of Dakota Territory. It is 800 yards 
wide at its mouth, 1,000 miles long, and navigable 700 or 800 miles. 

The region of the Yellowstone and its source was for the first time explored 
by parties from the United States in 1870-71, and is one of the most wonder- 
ful spots on the earth. Making their way up the river through the grand 
scenery of the Rocky Mountains, the explorers came to a district of a square 
mile in area, filled with hot springs in active operation, which cover the hill- 
sides with a snowy white deposit like a frozen cascade. Three or four miles 
around were occupied by springs which have ceased to flow. They are about 
6jOOO feet above the sea, and are already resorted to by invalids. This was 
but the beginning of the wonders. Next they came to a terrific rift, 2,000 feet 
in depth, with a river rolling in its deeps, " a grand, gloomy, terrible place." 
At the head of this caflon are the Tower Falls, with a sheer descent of 400 
feet. The Grand Cafion, however, throws this into the shade. This fearful 
abyss is 3,000 feet in perpendicular height, and to one looking up from the 
bottom, stars are visible in broad daylight. The ravine is full of hot springs 
of sulphur, sulphate of copper, alum, steam jets in endless variety, some of 
most peculiar form. The grandeur of the cafion is at once heightened and 
diversified by the Upper and Lower Falls; the latter one unbroken sym- 
metrical expanse, 350 feet in height. Between this fall and the lake lies a 
region full of boiling springs and craters, with two hills formed wholly of the 
sinter thrown from the springs. Further on is a valley containing about 
1,500 geysers, some throwing up immense columns of water. The beautiful 
lake from which the river issues is situated 7,427 feet above the level of the 
sea. In 1872 the region at the source of the Yellowstone, 65 miles long by 
55 miles broad, including the Grand Cafion and the lake, was reserved by 
Congress from occupancy, and set apart as "A PUBLIC PARK OR PLEASURING- 
^GROUND for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." The Upper Falls of 
the Yellowstone are one-fourth of a mile from the Lower Falls. The Upper 
Falls flow through a grassy, meadow-like valley, with a calm, steady current, 
giving no warning until very near the falls that it is about to rush over a 
precipice 140 feet, and then, within a quarter of a mile, again to leap down a 
distance of 350 feet. 

The exploration of the Yellowstone region was made by the officers of the 



i8o PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

United States Corps of Engineers in 1871, under the orders of Lieutenant- 
General Sheridan. Their report was the first which made known to the world 
the wonders of this beautiful region, which was known as the " Great Divide." 
It is comprised in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, and is in the 
geographical centre of North America. The vast reservation covers 3,578 
square miles. Many of the mountain ranges are at an elevation of over 10,000 
feet above the sea. The most convenient route for tourists has been from 
Corinne on the Central Pacific Road to Virginia City, Montana; from this 
point to Fort Ellis, and to Bozeman at the upper end of the Gallatin Valley, 
which is only 3 miles from Fort Ellis ; the next point is a Crow agency, about 
25 miles distant, and then south by the Yellowstone River to the great falls. 
The scenery after reaching the Yellowstone River is probably the finest in the 
world. Among the most sublime, impressive, and picturesque scenery is the 
" Devil's Slide," projecting 1,000 feet into the air. As we proceed, Gardiner's 
River, or Warm Stream Creek, is met where it flows into the Yellowstone, 
15 miles from the Middle Cailon. We have now arrived at the hot springs 
district. Here can be found the largest spring in the country, with a basin 
40x25 feet; from this basin great quantities of carbonic acid gas are dis- 
charged through several openings. There are smaller basins and terraces 
which contain water from this spring of different degrees of temperature ; 
these basins are gracefully curved, and vary in color from a rich yellow to a 
bright red, creating a beautiful effect. 

We now cross the " low divide " between the valley of the Yellowstone 
and that of Gardiner's River, and the steep entrance to the Great Canon is 
reached. The gloomy and forbidding aspect of this place has gained it the 
name of the " Devil's Den." The river rushes with great force and rapidity 
through this narrow gorge, and shoots over an abrupt fall of nearly 200 feet; 
and after a series of cascades and rapid falls, leaves the cafion with a sudden 
fall of nearly 400 feet, after which it gently pursues its course over a rolling 
prairie for many miles. The sides of the Great Cafion are more than 2,000 
feet high. We next arrive at a new hot spring. This is very remarkable for 
its extraordinary " mud geysers," and a " mud volcano," which has a crater 
30 feet deep by 25 feet in width, and in a constant state of ebullition ; one of 
the geysers spouts every six hours. Yellowstone Lake is 8 miles from these 
geysers; its shore line is over 300 miles; it is 30 miles long, 15 miles wide, 
and averages about 25 fathoms deep. Numerous hot springs exist almost in 
contact with this lake, and a new system of hot springs are to be found about 
10 miles from the Yellowstone. The entire district appears like a vast lime- 
kiln in active operation. In the main eastern part of the Madison River are 
several beautiful springs. The one of greatest interest is the Great Geyser 
Basin. The geysers are all named ; two are known as " The Sentinels," one 
on each side of the river. The geyser known as " The Well " spouts to a 
height of nearly 100 feet. The " Grotto " is a formation about 100 feet in 
circumference and 8 feet high ; it spouts or plays to a height of 60 feet several 
times a day. The " Giant " Geyser is probably the most remarkable in this 




NIAGARA FALLS. 



NIAGARA FALLS.— THE NEW STATE PARK. 



183 



extraordinary group ; it stands on a mound, and has a crater 5 feet in diameter, 
and throws a large column of water 130 feet into the air, continuing each time 
it exerts itself for an hour and a half. Twelve miles distant from this point 
is "Castle" Geyser, consisting of a chimney 120 feet in diameter at the base, 
60 feet at the top, 12 feet high, with a 3-foot opening. This extraordinary 
geyser is situated on a platform lOO feet long by 70 feet wide, and sends 
a column of water to a height of over 250 feet. It works at intervals, and its 
time of active operation is about an hour. Another geyser, which plays with 
great regularity every three-quarters of an hour, has on this account earned 
the name of "Old Faithful." It throws a stream nearly 150 feet in the air. 
There are many other geysers, and the district is drained of its hot water by 
the Firehole River, which flows into the Madison. The writer of the Govern- 
ment report said of the country in question : " No other locality, I think, can 
be found which combines so many attractions both of climate and scenery." 
In summer the atmosphere is pure and clear, and is undisturbed by storms. 
The Act of Congress which reserved this region as a national park, stated 
that it was " reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale, 
under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public 
park or pleasuring ground, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people," 
while by the same Act it was placed under the exclusive control of the 
Secretary of the Interior. The Park is 65 miles by 55 miles. 



NIAGARA FALLS.-THE NEW STATE PARK. 

There is probably no more beautiful sight in the world than the Falls of 
Niagara, and a sketch of the Falls and the surroundings cannot fail to be of 
interest. The 



illustrations ac- 
companying 
this sketch are 
engraved from 
photographs, 
and are de- 
signed to give 
an accurate idea 
of the grandeur 
and sublimity 
of Nature's 
great work. The 
Niagara River 
flows from Lake 
Erie northward 
into Lake On- 




THE HORSE-SHOE FALL. 



tario. It is 36 miles long, descending 334 feet between the lakes. It is three- 
quarters of a mile broad at Lake Erie ; but as it flows on, it becomes several 



i84 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 




THE BRIDGE LEADING TO BATH AND GOAT ISLAND. 



miles wide, making room for a number of islands, the largest of which, Grand 
Island, is 12 miles long, and from 2 to 7 broad. At the foot of Grand Island, 
which reaches within ij!^ miles of the Falls of Niagara, the river is contracted 

to a breadth of 
2^ miles, and 
grows narrower 
as it proceeds. 
By this and by 
the descent in 
the channel, 
which is about 
60 feet in the 
mile above the 
Falls, are pro- 
duced the swift 
currents known 
as the Rapids, 
in which the 
river, notwith- 
standing its great depth, is perpetually white with foam. At the P^alls, 
which are 22 miles from Lake Erie, the river is divided by an island contain- 
ing about 75 acres, called Goat Island ; but in consequence of a bend in the 
channel, by far the larger portion of the water is sent down by the Canadian 
side. On this side, therefore, is the grander cataract which has been named the 
Horse-shoe Fall, but no longer bears the name appropriately, as the precipice 
has been worn from a curved into a somewhat angular shape. 

The separation caused by Goat Island leaves a large wall of rock between 
the Canadian and American Falls, the latter being again divided by an islet 
at a short distance from Goat ^.^ , , - - ^ ^ - ^^-. 

Island, This fall is from 8 > 

to 10 feet higher than the 
Horse-shoe, but only about f^ 
220 yards broad. A little 
above the fall the channel is 1 'n 
divided by Bath Island, which V 
is connected by bridges with /'/P/ 
Goat Island and the Ameri- 
can shore. A small tower, 
approached from Goat Island, 
has been built on a rock over 
the brow of the Horse-shoe 
Fall ; and from this the finest '^^^^^^ ^°^'^' ^^'^^^-^^''^- FALL, 

view on the American side may be obtained, the Table Rock on the Canadian side 
giving the completest view of the entire cataract. The Falls can also be seen 
from below on both sides, and every facility is given for viewing them from all 




NIAGARA FALLS.—THE NEW STATE PARK. 



185 



the best points, while magnificent hotels, Canadian and American, offer their 
inducements to the tourist to stay till he has received the full influence of the 
scenery. The river is crossed about 200 or 300 yards below the Falls, where 
it is 1,200 yards broad. The current is lessened for about a mile, but increases 
again as the channel becomes narrower and the descent greater. Between 3 
and 4 miles below the Falls, a stratum- of rock runs across the direct course of 
the river, which, after forming a vast circular basin, with an impassable whirl- 
pool, is forced away at right angles to its old channel. The celebrated wire 
suspension bridge for the Great Western Railway, with a road beneath for 
vehicles and foot passengers, crosses the river ly^ miles below the Falls; it is 
800 feet long, 40 broad, and 200 feet above the surface of the water. 

This process of wearing away goes on gradually still, a large projection on 
the Canadian bank, known as the Table Rock, having partly fallen off in 1863. 
The Horse-shoe Fall is above 
600 yards in breadth, and 
about 154 feet in height. 
The water is so deep that 
it retains its green color for 
some distance below the 
brow of the precipice ; and 
it rushes over with such force 
that it is thrown about 50 
feet from the foot of the 
cliff. One may thus, having 
donned an oil-skin dress, 
enter 2 or 3 yards behind 
the curved sheet of •water; 
but the spray is so blinding, 
the din so deafening, and the 
current of air so strong, that 
it requires a tolerably calm 
nerve and firm foot. 

The village of Niagara 
depends chiefly on the pat- 
ronage of the visitors to the 
Falls for its prosperity. The 

entire domain, secured by the State for a public park at an expense of one ai\a 
a half millions, amounts to 106 acres. By this large acquisition the State now 
owns the most remarkable park on earth. By reason of the changes made no 
one who has heretofore visited Niagara would recognize it in its new dre.ss. 
The construction at Falls View on the Canadian side, of a glass pavilion, 400 
feet long, to be called the " Crystal Palace," will be commenced at once. The 
promenade will be twelve feet higher than the present terrace in use. Ori the 
American side, diagonally opposite to the entrance to Prospect Park, a L-trge 
and beautiful Opera House has been built. The design of this building is a 




TERRAPIN TOWER, HORSE-SHOE FALL, FROM 
AMERICAN SIDE. 



i86 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 




NIAGARA FROM NEAR QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS. 



marvel of modern architecture. A new steam yacht and ferryboat called the 
" Maid of the Mist " has been launched at the foot of the inclined railway, and 
adds a novel effect to the caiion scenery. Numerous other improvements, 

particularly 
about the ri- 
parian homes 
along River 
Street, arebeing 
effected, so that 
Niagara pre- 
j sents a totally 
new appearance 
vastly grander 
and more pic- 
turesque than 
has heretofore 
been witnessed 
at this favorite 
resort. Since 
the opening of 
the new park, making it free to all, the number of visitors has largely increased. 
A walk around the approaches of Niagara at the present time is a blissful 
experience compared to any attempts in other years. The American side 
presents a long array of shaded green terrace unobstructed by old fences and 
broken-down buildings, while opposite the full picture of Goat's Island, strongly 
contrasting, with its wild beauty, numerous variety of trees and underbrush, 
looks like a freak of nature heretofore unseen. Bath Island, once loath- 
some and hid- 
den with old 
mills, bursts 
forth in a carpet 
of green. 

Niagara has 
numerous ho- 
tels. Champlain 
made the first 
map of the place 
In 1603. The 
waters of Lakes 
Erie, Superior, 
St. Clair, Huron, 
Michigan, and 




RIV-ER NIAGARA, BELOW THE FALLS— THE CANADA SIDE. 



several smaller lakes flow into the river; it has a constant supply winter and 
summer. The river has a descent of 104 feet in 7 miles between the foot of the 
Falls and Lewiston. Its course is between perpendicular walls nearly 300 feet 



NIAGARA FALLS.— THE NEW STATE PARK. 



187 



hig^h. From Lewiston to Lake Ontario the chasm gradually diminishes to 30 
feet. It is claimed by geologists that this great chasm has been formed by 
the action of the water through countless ages on the limestone strata. Large 




NIAGARA SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 

portions of the edge of the precipice on the American side gave way in 1818, 
and portions of the Horse-shoe Fall gave way in 1828, and at various times 
since then other portions have broken down. It is estimated by an eminent 

authority that 
I foot of the 
precipice at the 
Falls wears 
away each year. 
Niagara pre- 
sents a scene of 
great sublimity 
and grandeur 
not only in sum- 
mer, but in the 
winter, when 
the ice in the 
river presents a 
wonderful 
scenic effect, 

and is visited by thousands from all parts of the world. We advise all lovers 
of the beautiful and romantic in natural scenery to visit Niagara, believing 
that they will derive the same pleasure from an acquaintance with its won- 




NIAGARA RIVER — THE WHIRLPOOL. 



188 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

derful scenic attractions that the writer has enjoyed. At every point new 
and varied scenery greets the eye, and the deafening roar of the waters is 
grand and impressive. The marvels and beauties it reveals will long be 
enshrined in the heart of the visitor. This remarkable wonder of Nature 
has now become so widely known and so highly appreciated that it ranks as 
one of the greatest attractions of the American Continent. Its wild grandeur 
and beauty must be seen to be appreciated. No words can describe it and do 
it justice. It is no wonder that the tide of travel has set toward it from all 
directions. Its profound and sublime fall of water causes the visitor to specu- 
late on its wonderful formation. 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 

The St. Lawrence River is the volume of the overflow of Lakes Superior, 
Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Its course is in a general northeasterly 
direction. From the point of its ddboiicJier from Lake Ontario to the crossing 
of the 45th parallel at Cornwall, it forms the boundary line between New 
York State and the Province of Ontario, Canada, a distance of 85 miles. For 
a further distance of more than 400 miles it leads through the Canadian Prov- 
ince of Montreal and Quebec. The final 200 miles, or nearly all of that portion 
below the city of Quebec, is practically a vast sound, varying in width from 
6 to 30 miles. The ever-varying features and the constant change of vista 
afforded the voyager, overflowing at every turn with unexpected instances of 
those combinations of water, land, and sky which we recognize as beautiful, 
make up the charm and glory of the Upper St. Lawrence River. 

Much has been said by a multitude of writers concerning the rapids of the 
St. Lawrence, down which the large and staunch passenger steamers daily 
perform their exciting and apparently perilous descent. These rapids are 
seven in number, and are divided by intervals of smooth waters and broad 
lakes. Between the passage of the Long Sault and the Lachine there is an 
interval in voyaging down-stream of about five hours ; the return is made by 
all craft around the rapids through a series of costly canals. 

The St. Lawrence was originally known as the Great River of Canada, and 
was also known by the names of Cataraqui and the Iroquois. The name it 
now bears was bestowed upon it by the explorer Jacques Cartier, who first 
penetrated its mouth upon the festival day of St. Lawrence. 

The steamboat express, which is a part of the through route via the 
St. Lawrence River to Montreal, leaves Niagara Falls over the Lake Shore 
Division of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, arriving at the 
thriving town of Clayton, where close connection is made with the steamer for 
Alexandria Bay and the trip down the St. Lawrence. Through sleepers 
arrive here every morning, also from New York, which is only ii hours distant 
via Utica and Albany. All lines of steamers stop at Clayton. 

If you come from the West, you will be on board the steamer at Clayton 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 



191 



just as the sun has fairly thrown off the rosy drapery of his couch, and touch- 
ing at Round Island, Thousand Island Park, Central Park, and Alexandria 
Bay, within the next 
hour you will find 
the pretty skiffs or 
convenient steam 
yachts of scores of 
cottages waiting to 
capture and bear 
away among the 
islands their happy, 
newly-arrived guests, 
and you are indeed 
fortunate if you are 
numbered among 
these. 

There is a strange 
enchantment in the 
stilly mornings here. 
The city, its pressing 
cares, its hurry, heed- 
less, and often heart- 
less strife for su- 
premacy, seem far 
away, and as unreal 
as a troubled dream 
that is past. Some- 
times the voices of 

nature hint to us that here is the true life to lead — that all else is dross and a 
delusion. Dawn ushers in the beginning of the through traveller's trip down 
the river, and he makes up his mind whether or no the vaunted Thousand 
Islands are all that they are claimed to be. First, let it be understood that 
all of the land you can see to the left is made up of islands, one overlapping 
the other along the distance until they give the impression of being con- 
tinuous coast line. Not so ; they are threaded by many devious and charming 
channels. 

As Round Island is approached the graceful proportions of the large hotel 
in its centre are revealed through interstices in the dense foliage along its 
shores. From this point there is a charming succession of pretty, brightly- 
painted cottages all along the cliff-like frontage of the island. Each year 
witnesses the rearing of scores of costly and beautiful villas upon coigns of 
vantage, and island property appreciates rapidly in value. After passing 
Round Island we have a fine view of Thousand Island Park and the clustered 
islands in its vicinity. We soon enter the narrow precinct of the American 
channel, which for several miles separates Wellsley Island from the mainland. 




w^ 



BETWEEN THE ISLANDS. 



192 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

Rock Island is on the right, and beautiful cottages are here, there, and every- 
where. 

At the lower end of Densmore Bay, which indents Wellsley Island at this 
point, are the " Seven Isles," a most romantic spot, which one must needs 
explore with a row-boat to discover its hidden charms, " Bella Vista," a large 
and costly place, is now noted upon the right, distinguishable by its square 
tower and ultra-modern style of architecture. Perched upon the cap of a cliff 




ON THE ISLANDS. 



Stands the villa known as " Louisiana Point." The tall tower looming above 
the trees of a mid-stream island ahead is the large villa upon Comfort Island. 

Within easy hail down-stream is Nobby Island. It hides modestly behind 
Friendly Island. To the west of Nobby Island stands Welcome Island. A 
pretty cottage stands in its centre. A notable property passed by the steamer 
just before reaching the " Bay," and the last in the channel, is that of Mr. 
Albert B. Pullman, of Chicago, known as Cherry Island. 

As the steamer rounds up to her dock at Alexandria Bay, the wealth and 
variety of picturesque surrounding, in which the natural and artificial are so 








ROUND ISLAND PARK. 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 195 

happily blended, almost bewilder the new-comer, whose imagination must be 
vivid indeed if he has conjured from the recesses of expectation anything half 
so beautiful. The huge and shapely hotels loom up close beside the water, 
and sable representatives of each lay in wait for the coming tourist upon the 
wharf. In the foreground of the accompanying picture of Alexandria Bay is 
seen the famous Thousand Island House, Charles P. Clemes, manager. 

Round Island, occupied as Round Island Park, is located in the centre of 
the American channel, 8 miles above Alexandria Bay. One hundred and fifty 
acres of land, beautifully diversified by sun and shade, are contained in the 
island, every portion of which has some special attraction. The entire island 
is under the management of " The Round Island Park " Company, a stock 
company with a capital of $50,000. The hotel is modern, and well conducted. 

There are no two sunsets just alike at Round Island. Each day brings 
some special beauty. The going down of the sun, as it sinks upon the green 
Canadian hills, realizes the finest phenomenon in nature, save only that of light 
itself. Whether the declining orb drapes himself with the purple and gold of 
a royal couch, or sinks amid the tears and sackcloth betokening a coming 
storm, he is always grand in his leave-taking. Men in all ages have con- 
templated this phenomenon with awe and admiration — even to adoration. 
What a place for a moonlight row ! What enchanted islets to thread between, 
if one but knows the way ! In midsummer there are veritably but five hours 
of darkness upon the St. Lawrence. At 10 o'clock the sunset yet stains the 
western sky; and soon after 3 there are manifest tokens of the coming of 
another day. 

The Methodist organization, known as the Thousand Island Park Asso- 
ciation, began its operations in 1875 by the purchase of a large territory at the 
head of Wellsley Island, aggregating 1,000 acres. Thousand Island Park now 
stands, with its 300 tasty cottages, as the most extensive of the denominational 
resorts upon the river. The new hotel, erected last season, is a large and 
costly structure, which must aid greatly in advancing the interests of the park. 
As at Chautauqua, a regular programme of the season's exercises is announced. 

It is a mooted question if the islands which dot the broadened river in 
front of Alexandria Bay look their prettiest at sunrise or eventide. Far away 
the camp-fires begin to twinkle out of the mellow purple gloom, and the merry 
sounds of human occupancy float out from the island homes. It is an hour of 
repose which even the wordy wrangling on the dock concerning the " catches " 
of the day can scarce disturb ; but wait, a finer thing is yet to come. Take 
supper and come out half an hour later. Now, displayed against the black 
masses where the islands stand, beneath the lingering stain of the sunset, are 
a score of devices, wrought in twinkling lamps; here an anchor, there a star, a 
harp, or initial letter. Far up toward the cap of the lofty tower upon the 
Thousand Island House glows the white heat of an electric lamp, and alono- 
every cornice through the garden below and over among the rock and verdure 
of the illuminated Crossman House, a thousand lamps and torches dance in 
the eddying night-wind, each tiny flame caught up and reflected on every 



196 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

ripple of the deep black stream ; and as we gaze and admire, the night is 
pierced by the swift flight of rockets, which mount into the dome of heaven, 
and, shattering there, scatter particolored stars far out upon the silent tide. 

The largest and most costly, if not the most picturesque, of the many 
hundreds of cottages along the river are found in the vicinity of Alexandria 
Bay, many of them being within an easy row of the dock. The passing 
voyager, who only looks at these places from the steamer's deck, can have but 
slight idea of the loving care, even extravagant outlay, lavished upon many of 
them. One of the best-known properties in the vicinity is " Bonnie Castle," 
the property and favorite home of the late Dr. J. G. Holland. It is said that 
the final words of that genial and popular writer, who died in October, 1881, 
after a joyous summer at " Bonnie Castle," related to his life here, which had 



" BONNIE CASTLE. 

extended through five summers. " It is to me," he said, " the sweetest spot 
on earth." He then went on to speak of the constant, all-winter longing he 
felt, almost counting the days to the approach of the time when he could 
escape the weariness, or as he expressed it, the " incessant grind," of the city 
to this delightful home. Dr. Holland is also credited with the mot : "We stay 
in New York, but we live upon the St. Lawrence." 

Over beyond the islands which shut out the western horizon, when looking 
from the Bay, is Westminster Park, which occupies an extensive domain upon 
the lower end of Wellsley Island. This park, like others upon the river, is 
under denominational influence, being of Presbyterian bias. The hotel, known 
as the Westminster, is composed of two roomy buildings. In Poplar Bay one 
finds a commodious dock, and a semicircle of bright and pretty homes. Just 
here is the entrance to the weird Lake of the Island, a large pond hidden 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 197 

away in the midst of Wellsley Island, to which access is had through a narrow 
and precipitous channel. This pond or lake is two miles in length and nearly 
a mile in width. 

On leaving Alexandria Bay for Montreal, scattering islands, many of them 
quite as wild as when the white man first voyaged here, are passed all the way 
down to Brockville, where the Thousand Island system terminates in a group 
called the "Three Sisters." Brockville is a substantial Canadian city of 10,000 
people. It is 125 miles from Montreal by the river. The reader will note 
the large number of fine private properties along the rugged river front, both 
above and below the town. Immediately opposite is the American town of 
Morristown. Fourteen miles beyond, the Canadian town of Prescott and the 
American city of Ogdensburg stand vis-a-vis upon the banks of the river. A 
railway connects the St, Lawrence at this point with Ottawa, the Canadian 
capital. Ogdensburg is the focal point of three lines of railway, and a depot 
for a vast transhipment of grain and lumber from the West. It has an 
energetic population of nearly 12,000 largely engaged in manufacturing and 
internal commerce. 

Five miles below Ogdensburg is Chimney Island, where vestiges of French 
fortifications still exist, and immediately below are the first of the series of 
rapids, the Gallopes, and shortly thereafter the Rapide de Plat is met. Neither 
of these swift places is especially exciting, but they serve as a preliminary to 
the great Long Sault (pronounced long sou), which is next in order. A long 
reach of smooth water intervenes, however, during which we pass the small 
American town of Waddington and the attractive Canadian city of Morris- 
burg. Just below this place is the battle-field of Chrisler's Farm, where an 
engagement occurred in 18 13 between British and American forces, while the 
latter were marching to the capture of Montreal and Quebec. Over upon the 
American side is Massena Landing, whence a stage connecting with a steam 
ferry runs to the fine old medicinal resort known as Massena Springi, which, 
aside from its picturesque and healthful location, the excellent Hatfield House, 
and good fishing, boasts of remarkably strong and potent sulphur waters. 

At Dickinson's Landing, the boat, which is well fitted for her daily task of 
breasting the wild surges of the rapids, turns in the swift current, and a mile 
ahead the passengers see the white, stormy waters of the Long Sault stretch- 
ing from shore to shore. Now the real fun begins. There is a sudden hush 
to the monotone of the steamer's pulsations. We are in the grasp of the 
current. Extra men are at the wheel, and others are aft in charge of a spare 
tiller. If you are inclined to be nervous now, remember that steamers have 
been going down here ever since 1840, and no passenger vessel has ever been 
wrecked in the rapids. The first plunge is over a cascade at " the cellar," and 
is exhilarating. We are no sooner into the vast expanse of broken waters 
than fresh sensations await us. Look at the shore ! Heavens, how we slide 
along! Now across our way a vast green billow, like the oncoming surge of 
the ocean upon soundings after a nor'easter, disputes our passage. It is of 
the beautiful green where the sunlight shows through its wedge-like cap that 



198 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



one sees upon the coral beds of Nassau, or at the deep centre of the Horse- 
shoe Fall at Niagara, or in drug-store jars. It does not rise and fall, advance 
and recede. It simply stands there forever, a vast wall of water through 
which we cleave our way with a fierce, brief struggle, only to meet a second, a 
third, a fourth like wave beyond. 

The rapids are about two miles in length, but there is a continuance of 
reasonably swift water for several miles further. The actual y?^/// between the 

boat and the 
angry billows is 
over in less than 
three minutes. 
The important 
town of Corn- 
wall, where sev- 
eral large fac- 
tories are lo- 
cated, is shortly 
seen upon the 
Canadian shore. 
After leaving 
Cornwall we 
bid good-bye to 
American soil, 
for here the in- 
ternational 
boundary line 
intersects the 
river. 

Four miles 
below Cornwall 
the Indian vil- 
lage of St. 
Regis is noted 
on the right 
shore. We are 
now on the 
broad Lake St. 

Francis, which is about 25 miles long. We pass the village of Lancaster on 
the left shore of the lake, when we arrive at the river once more. It dashes 
off impetuously just after leaving the village of Coteau du Lac, and carries us 
headlong down the "Coteau Rapids," which are about 2 miles long; then the 
"Cedars," 3 miles, and the Cascades, the village at the foot of which is Beau- 
harnois ; and now a second lake is met, as if the river dreaded the final plunge 
down the famous Lachinc. Lake St. Peter is 12 miles across the village of 
Lachine. 




DOWN THE RAPIDS. 



^\v*i>> 







VVA'IKINS (.l.l'.N. 201 

We .lie iKtvv ill sirlil ol I lie iMcil (ity of M out rc;il. 'IIic villa;;r of I,a(liiiic 
is simply a pit t iii<-S(|iic snlmih of (lie (ily. I In- reader may ask why t lie 
ciiii(»iis name, I .u C '//////' (I'lic ( lliina), \\\ applied lo this ])oiiil. It is said tlia' 
llie eailiei voyajM'rs helievecl thai lli<- Si. LawreiKc opened a way lo lli'. 
I'ac ili( , .\\\i\ liu lelore lo the I'lowery Kin};dom. 

I'lom the del k ol t lut sIcaiiuM- the passcii};er may see \\\v hold outline, 
slaiidiiij; out aisiiii.l the ^aiiiset, of a Vwyy. stoiu' watch-lower, and if close 
cnoii};h the crumhiini; remains of two stone forts, built to |)r(>tcct the settle 
menl.; alon|' Lake St. Louis from the savajjes. Onward forf^es our si)eed}' 
trail, ,\\\(\ eie loiij; the litiidtled waters of Lai hint- arc: seen far ahead, a sntjwy 
bi'ea.stwork across our path. Ihe lake is a};ain a river. Wc: are abreast the 
villa|u- of Lachine, where the canal from Montreal t/t'hoiic/ics into llu: St. Law- 
reiuc. The mud(l\' (Xiawa pours its tide into the puic blue watei's in which 
we iiave \(>ya;;e(l sim c moiiiin^, as the Missouii polliiles the Mississippi. 
We aie diillinj'. steadily down toward the" rapids. '\'\\c. bi'll signals " ^O 
ahead," and the Indian pilot, who has tome aboard from a skiff, lakes sujireme 
command at the wheel. A little while latei' and we are in I he vorte.x ; the 
curic-nt i'lows .swilt and, swifter; all the nii}.;hty oul[)ouring of the stream 13 
pent up in a .'anide channel ; all the bosom of the river is covered with reefs 
and locks. The boat heads this way and that ; down we pluiu^e, and onward 
sliaiidil towaid a rocky islet ! Which side? Just as deslniction seems immi- 
nent, the vessel sweeps round to the riidit, and shoots like an arrow between 
two sunivin ledi'.es. We an* throu;di, and can look back u|) the watery hill, 
we have descendeil, and admire the courai;e ol the men who first navij^^ated 
this wonderful chamul. 

The once maivillous Vicl(»ria HridiH' comes into view. In a few moments 
we steam beneath it and swini; arouiu! the dani^erous shoals that bar the 
terminus of tlecp-water uavii;ation, and headiiu;' up-slream are s[)eedily at the 
lock, within which, as I he steamer rises lo the up|)cr level, ihe passeni;crs are 
landed. In Montieal, an acci>unt t^f which is given elsewhere, the Windsor, 
stalcK' and American like, pla\s an important part in the pleasures of spend- 
iii<T a portion of lach war upon the i;rand aiul changeless St. Lawrence. It is 
the memoiA- oi hapi)y tlays in other years when the picture of care-free hours 
has iiu luiK-d our warmt^sl friends, the whole framed with the exquisite environ- 
nunt oi the islands, which siW.ices us for ihe cold and cheerless days of winter 
which must inti-rvene before we can again take up this ideal habit of life. All 
indications point lowartl a brilliant future for the island region and the tour 
of the river. 



WATKINS QLEN. 

This beautiful CAcw is situated west of anti partly in the village of 
Watkins, SclniyliT ('ount\'. N. Y., near the head of Seneca Lake. It is 20 
niih^s from I'dniiia .xwd .\o {\o\\\ (jcneva. It is on the Geneva & Corning Rail- 
road ; also, on the Northern Central Railroad, which coiniccts at Canandaigua 



202 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

with the New York Central Railroad. It is also reached by a line of steamers, 
running from Geneva to Watkins, over Seneca Lake, touching at all points. 
This is a delightful way of reaching the Glen from the north, as the scenery 
of this beautiful lake is equal to anything on the continent. The word Glen 
gives but a faint idea of the gorge ; it is a marvellous rift in the mountain, 
which appears to have been made by some stupendous earthquake. 

The Glen, with its dashing, flashing, cascading stream, is a really wonderful 
natural curiosity. It is not properly a glen, but a numerous succession and 
variety of glens. At every turn there is material for a wonderful picture. It 
is one of Nature's reservoirs of eternal coolness. Even in July and August 
the air is cool, fresh, and bracing ; laden with sweet odors, the fragrance of 
many flowers. It is renowned the world over for its wonderful scenery. It is 
as well worthy a visit as the Falls of Niagara. The total ascent of the Glen is 
about 800 feet. Looking upward, what a sight bursts upon us ! Towering 
and irregular cliffs of dark rock, angular and sullen, rise one above another till 
they appear to meet in the clouds, and seem to forbid approach. At numerous 
places in the Glen we pause, and wonder how it is possible to go much 
farther, the way appears impassable, and the distance so inaccessible ; but as 
we advance the path always opens, and gives far more interest to the ascent 
than though we could clearly mark our way before us. 

Minnehaha is one of the numerous beautiful cascades ; it is irregular, yet 
full of grace. The water, broken several times in its fall, is dashed into foam 
and spray, which forms a brilliant contrast to the dark, rocky surroundings. 
About 100 feet beyond Minnehaha is the Fairy Cascade, which, with one 
graceful bound, leaps into Neptune's Pool, For sublimity and grandeur Cavern 
Gorge is probably unsurpassed by any in the Glen. Near this beautiful 
cavern is another, known as Cavern Cascade, which leaps 60 feet in a single 
column from the rocks above into what is known as the Grotto, which is a 
dark, damp, weird cavern. 

After emerging from the dark chasm, we see before us silvery cascades, 
quiet pools, and moss-garnished walls, overarched by stately forest trees and 
thick shrubbery, with a broad light flooding the distance ; and far above 
.through the emerald foliage, like a web of gossamer, is seen the beautiful iron 
bridge spanning the Glen. The beauty of the foliage is very impressive, and 
the vegetation is almost tropical. From this point along the verge of the 
gorge is a " new " pathway, with a fine stairway, broken by platforms recently 
erected, and which leads to the building known as the " Swiss Cottage," now 
a cottage of the Glen Mountain House, the only hotel connected with the 
Glen, which is located on a sort of natural shelf, loo feet above the level of 
the stream, and 200 feet above the level of Glen Alpha, overlooking The 
Vista, and nestling among the trees and shrubbery. Thousands of feet of 
pathways and many of the stairs are cut in the solid rock. 

A few rods above the Mountain House is situated Hope's Art Gallery, 
which was built by Captain J. Hope, late of 82 Fifth Avenue, New York, and 
contains a superb collection of more than 100 of his finest and most celebrated 




OLEN MOUNTAIN HOUSE, ^VATKIXS GLEN, 



■'^'^m^e&ie/r j-yvj^- 



WATKINS GLEN. 



205 



paintings. From this point Sylvan Gorge is not far distant. It is considered 
one of the wildest, most beautiful, and interesting portions of the Glen. A 
succession of little rapids and cascades leap into Sylvan Gorge, of which the 
upper termination is called the Sylvan Rapids, and they glide and dance very 
beautifully through their irregular rocky channel. Here we have a delightful 
bird's-eye view down through Sylvan Gorge, with its many windings and 
mysterious recesses. 

Looking upward we find ourselves in Glen Cathedral. All attempt at 
description fails, and words are inadequate to paint a picture that would do 
this subject justice, or convey to the mind an idea of its grandeur. The 
Cathedral is an immense oblong amphitheatre, nearly an eighth of a mile in 
length. Here the Glen is wider than at any other point; the rocky walls 
tower to a great height — over 300 feet — and are richly tapestried with mosses 
and clinging vines, and crowned with lofty pines and other evergreen trees. 
The floor is composed of a smooth and even surface of rock; the vaulted arch 
of the sky forms the dome. In the upper end the Central Cascade forms the 
Choir, and, as it dashes from rock to rock, sings continual hymns of praise to 
the Infinite Power that created this mighty temple. 

Central Cascade has a beautiful fall of about 60 feet, and while far above, 
projecting through the trees, is seen 
Pulpit Rock, close by is the Glen of the 
Pools, so called from its great variety and 
number of rock basins. Situated near 
the upper end of the Cathedral is a large 
and beautiful pool, called the Baptismal 
Font. The Grand Staircase, which is 
close by, is 170 feet high. We have to 
ascend this before we can reach the 
" Poet's Dream," which is a very mag- 
nificent scene, and affords new phases of 
magical beauty like the ever-varying 
changes in a kaleidoscope. 

The Triple Cascade is considered by 
many to be the finest in the Glen. As 
its name indicates, it is composed of 
three portions, one above another, each 
different in form from the others, and 
forming a beautiful combination. Just 
below the Triple Cascade, on the south 
side, a little brook leaps over the brow 
of a great cliff nearly 400 feet high 
down into the Glen. The water does 
not descend in a smooth sheet, but in a myriad of tiny threads and drops, 
forming a sparkling crystal veil, behind which our course leads. This novel 
cascade is known as Rainbow Falls. The space between the fall and the clifT 




THE TRIPLE CASCADE. 



2o6 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. 



is narrow, but sufficiently wide to allow free passage. In the afternoon, from 
June to September, when fair weather prevails, the rays of the sun fall into 
the gorge, and the enraptured visitor, in looking through the veil, beholds two 

most beautiful rainbows, a primary and 
secondary — a sight that, once enjoyed, 
can never be forgotten. 

Glen Arcadia well deserves its name, 
for a more beautiful scene cannot be 
imagined. It has been called " The 
Artist's Dream," where all the beauties 
of the other glens, silver cascades, and 
crystal pools, light and shadow, sharp 
angles and graceful curves, foliage, sky, 
and rock, mingle and produce a picture 
that more resembles an ecstatic dream 
than anything that can elsewhere be 
found. Other scenes of great beauty or 
interest are Pluto Falls, on which the 
sun never shines ; the Arcadian Fall, 
which is a beautiful cascade, falling into 
a kind of natural grotto, and at its foot 
is a beautiful basin ; Elfin Gorge, which 
is a scene of wondrous beauty; Glen 
Facility, at which point the most im- 
portant of the great natural beauties of 
the Glen terminate ; but many visitors 
go half a mile beyond, to see the mag- 
nificent new iron bridge of the Syracuse, Geneva & Corning Railway Company, 
which spans the Glen at a height of 165 feet above the water. In our de- 
scription we have passed through 2)/z miles, and are now 600 feet above our 
starting-point. 




RAINBOW FALLS. 



(,(. 



THE RHINE OF AMERICA." 



The Hudson or North River is one of the most beautiful and important 
streams of America. It rises in the Adirondack Mountains, 4,000 feet above 
the level of the sea, and runs south from the vicinity of Lake George to New- 
York. Above Troy it is broken by falls and rapids; from this point to the 
bay, 151 miles, it is a tidal stream, varying from a third of a mile to two miles 
in width, and navigable for steamboats and sailing craft. Much of the scenery 
along the Hudson is magnificent. Its head-streams are the outlets of many 
mountain lakes in the northeastern portion of the State. At Glens Falls it has 
a fall of 50 feet, and soon after, taking a southerly course, runs nearly in a 
straight line to its mouth. At Newburgh, 61 miles from New York, the river 
enters the Highlands, which rise abruptly from the water to the height of 
1,200 to 1,600 feet. Here the scenery is of great beauty and grandeur, and is 





^^ ^ 




THE RHINE OF AMERICA." 



209 



admired by all travellers. Several of the heights are crowned with the ruins of 
fortifications built to prevent the passage of British ships in the War for 
Independence. Here was the scene of Arnold's treason and the sad fate of 
Major Andr^. Emerging from the Highlands, the river widens into a broad 
expanse called the Tappan Zee. Below, on the west bank, on the New Jersey- 
shore, rises an almost straight and perpendicular wall of trap-rock, from the 
river's brink to a height of 300 to 500 feet, called the Palisades, extending 
15 miles to a point opposite the upper portion of the city of New York. The 




VIEW OF THE TURK S FACE ON THE HUDSON. 

river is here from one to two miles wide, and here it flows into New York 
Bay. Its whole length is nearly 300 miles, and its principal tributaries are the 
Hoosic, Mohawk, VValkill, and Croton. The steamboats which ply on the 
Hudson are among the finest and fastest in the world. Some are more than 
4CXD feet long, are fitted up with great luxury, and attain a speed of 23 to 24 
miles an hour. The Hudson River Railway runs along the margin of the 
river on the east bank to Albany. By this river, and the Erie Canal, the West 
Shore, and several other railways New York is connected with the great lakes 
and the West. The river is named from the English navigator v;ho dis- 
covered it, in 160;). 



GOVERNMENT STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES 



Countries and 
Form of Gov'm't, 



Present Rulers. 



Population and 
Square Miles. 



Receipts and 
Expenditures. 



Imports and 
Exports. 



GreatBritainandQ^^^^^ yj^^^j.j^^ [ 



Ireland 
Consfl Mou'chy. 



COLONIES. 



Canada, 



India, 



Australia, 



United States.* 
Republic. 



Germany. 
Const'l Mon'chy. 



France. 
Republic. 



(Emp'ss of India) 



Governor Gen'l, 
Marquis of Lome. 



Governor Gen'l, 
Marquis of Ripou 



Five Provinces. 
Five Governors. 



President, 
Chester A. Arthur 



Emperor, 
Wilhelm I. 



President, 
M. Grevy. 



I 
P 35,240,605 I R $420,207,440 
SM 121,571 E 415,509,620 



Russia. Czar, 

Ab'lute Mon'chy. Alexander III. 



Italy. 

Const'l Mon'chy. 

Austria — Hung 

ary. 
Const'l Mon'chy. 

Spain. 



Kinjr, 
Ilumbert I. 



Emperor, 
Franz Joseph I. 



P 4,352,080 

SM unasc't'ined 



P 252,500,000 
SM 810,542 



P 2,700,000 

SM unasc't'ined 



P 50,152,800 
SM 1,993,509 



P 42,500,000 
SM 208,024 



P 30,905,788 
SM 204,030 



P 82, 330,854 
SM 8,138,541 



$23,232,427 
24,850,634 



King, 



Const'l iNlon'chy. Alphonso XII. 
COLONY. Cuoa. i'iiptain General. 



Sweden o; ]S''or'\ 
Const'l Mon'chy. 



Kiufx, 
O car II. 



P 

SM 



P 

SM 

P 

SM 

P 

SM 

P 

SM 



28.209,020 
114,380 



37,741,473 
240,000 

10,3.13.293 

193,172 

1,4 1 4.50S 

72,000 

0,338.703 
393,750 



R $325,998,010 
E 315',820,789 



R $79,037,540 
E 93,225,575 



R 15300,782,292 
E 178,204,146 



R $148,239,138 
E 232,839,138 



R $581,000,000 
E 547,800,000 



R $435,548,300 
E 469,121,791 



R $287,103,000 
E 283,340,50*) 



R $;}94,9.58,3(I9 

E 430,238,209 

R $103,347,097 

E 150,529,840 
R 
E 

R $43,957,930 

E 31,495,000 



I $2,950,147,825 
E 1,432,072,330 



I $86,489,747 
E 87,911,458 



I $224,280,715 

E 324,598,705 

I $230,893,913 

E 200,149,785 

I $753,240,125 

E 898,152,891 

I $973,200,000 

E 705,375,000 



r $981,509,400 
E 680,129,800 



I $395,450,000 
E 418,400,000 



I $244,105,023 

E 225,128,904 

I $302,900,000 

E 329,925,000 

I $88,000,300 

E 100,890,000 
1 
E 

I $102,855,310 

E 80,021,810 



♦United States. Cotton raised in 1881, 5,737,257 balps ; Cotton Seed, 2,725.195 tons j 
Pensioners receiving an annual average pension of $107.01, 208,830. 



^3,843,518,400 
$199,125,323 
^754,978,810 
$462,760,515 



RE 
T 



RR 
T 



RR 
T 



$1,920,477,693 I ^^ 



$88,385,022 



RR 
T 



$4,815,337,109 I ^^ 

$2,421,417,934 ^^ 

6850,000,000 m^ 
^redeemable, depre- 
ciated to 7 per cent. 

$2,420,000,000 ^^ 



$2,287,193,399 
$2,504,571,684 



$86,901,184 I ^^ 



23,15G 



6,891 
10,994 



8,615 
18,209 



4,338 
20,842 



93,671 
107,103 



18,089 ^ 
33,060 ^ 



15,205 
30,970 



16,715 I ^ 
42,595 -^ 



5,191 
J4,391 



n,471 
30,403 

4,203 
8,190 

2,790 

3,820 ^ 
10,078 ^ 



138,835 
^ 58,800 ) 

Vessels, 238 ) 

A 2,000 

V 7 

A 189,597 



G 391,540,031 L , , 

P 80,293,201 ^ 1,176,000, 



G- 64,000,000 
P 8,730,458 



000 



27,498 

9,538 ) 

139 J 

445,402 
15,905 
80 

622,058 

51,750 ) 

258/ 

974,771 

30,194 ) 

'^89/ 

736,502 
10,140 ) 

00/ 

305,825 

6,309 > 

90,000 

15,179 ) 

139/ 



PO 44.612 

L 1,089,739,177 



L 640,000,000 



G^ 2,697,962,456 
P 170,092,000 

G 878,211,425 
P 892,616,343 

G 708,973,575 
P 634,209,718 



G 400,000,000 PO q fiTR 

P 380,292 L 90,704;6l^ 



G 201,547,109 
P 6,350,010 



G 642,811,155 
P 374,210,230 



70,030 
10,270 i 
255/ 



G 1,533,070,545 ?^ 2,358 
L 90,632,915 



G 129,443,085 PO j 75-. 
P 29,090,724 I L 39,165;913 




Tobacco, 2,349,082 tons. 



GOVERNMENT STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES 



Countries aod 
Form of (jrov'm't. 



Present Rulers. 



Population and 
Square Miles. 



Receipts and 
Expenditures. 



Imports and 
Exports. 



Switzerland. 
Republic. 



Belgium. 
Coust'l Mon'chy. 



Ketherlands. 
Coust'l JMou'chy. 

Turkey. 

Const'l Mon'cby. 

DEPE>'DENCY. 

Egypt. 

China. 
Patriarchial 
Monarchy. 

Japan. 

Ab'late Mon'chy. 



Mexico. 
Republic. 



Brazil. 

Const'l Mon'chy. 

Argentine Re- 
public. Federal 
Republic. 

Greece. 

Jonst'l Mon'chy. 



Portugal. 
Const'l Mon'cliy. 



Denmark. 
Coust'l Mon'chy. 



President, 
Numa Droz. 



King, 
Leopold III. 



King, 
William III. 

Sultan, Abdul 

llamid Kahn. 

Khedive, Tewfik 

Pasha. (Sov'ign.) 

Emperoi, 
Kwong Shu. 



Mikado, 
Mutsu Uito. 



President, 
Manuel Gonzalez 



Emperor, 
Dom Pedro II. 



President, 
Julio A. Rocker. 



King, 
George 1. 



King, 
Luis I. 



King, 
Christian IX. 



P 2,831,787 R 

SM 15,908 E 



$8,502,001 
8,020,704 



P 5,476,6GS R $54,501,284 

SM 11,378 E 55,703,710 



4,000,580 



SM 12,727 



P 25,496,480 

SM 935,110 

P 17,419.980 

SM 1,152,948 

P 435,000,000 
SM 4,500,110 



P 34,338,404 
SM 140,013 



P 9,389,401 

SM 741,598 



P 10,108,291 

SM 3,287,904 

P 2,500,000 

SM 1,019,500 



P 1,079,775 

SM 20,018 



P 4,348,551 

SM 32,595 



P 1,969,454 

SM 14,553 



R $42,044,240 

E 49,789,774 

R $03,000,000 

E 125,000,001) 

R $42,083,000 

E 51,260,000 

R Never given. 

E " *' 



R $59,246,439 
E 59,170,439 



R $17,811 125 
E 23,128,218 



R $57,423,415 
E 59,702,289 



R $19,594,305 
E 17,193,284 



R $8759.000 

E 18,705,000 

R $30,794,004 

E 34,478,143 



R $12,800,000 
E 11,200,000 



1 Not given. 



I $452,265,000 
E 428,149,065 



I $338,680,000 
E 23J,0S0,0.-O 

I Not given. 
E '< " 
I $32,719,064 
E 64,916,017 

I $70,804,125 
E 07,172,180 



I $32,904,632 
E 28,711,527 



I $29,000,000 
E 31,000,000 



I $81,752,900 
E 102,029,250 



I $44,060,205 
E 00,497,425 



I $29,101,400 
E 17,992,000 



I $34,046,000 

E 20,520,000 

1 $53,744,310 

E 42,576,810 



^ COMPARED WITH PRINCIPAL NATIONS OF THE WORLD. 



Public Debt. 



Miles ofR.E. and' ?.^,t\-^'''' ^^""'^ iGrain and Potatol 
TeleirraDh V'''^ J^^^J^y;^ J^^ace; Production in 



Postal 
Department. 




GOVERNMENT STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES 



Countries and 
Forui ofGov'm't. 



Present Rulers. 



Population and 
Square Miles. 



Receipts and 
Expenditures. 



Imports ;iiid 
Expori s. 



Bolivia, 

Republic. 



Chili, 

Republic. 



Columbia, 
Confed. Republ'c 



Costa Rico, 
Republic. 



Ecuador, 
Reijublic. 

Hawaii, 

Sandwich Isl'ds. 
Const'n Mon'chy. 

Guatemala, 
Republic. 



Hayti, 

Republic. 



Santo Domingo, 
Republic. 



Honduras, 
Republic. 

Salvador, 

(San Salvador.) 

Republic. 

Peru, 

Republic. 



President, 
Nicolas Compero, 

President, 

Domingo Sauta 

Maria. 



President, 
R. Nunez. 



President, 
Tomas Guardia. 



President, 

Jose de Viutimil- 

la. 



King, 
Kalakaua I. 



President, 
J.Rufiua Barrios 



President, 
General Salomon, 



President, 
F. de Moreno. 



President, 
M. A. Soto. 



President, 
Rafael Zuldivar. 



President, 
Montero. 



P 2,080,000 

SM 53(j,200 



SM 



P 
SM 



P 
SM 



P 
SM 



P 
SM 



P 
SM 



P 

SM 



P 
SM 



P 
SM 



2,650,000 
124,084 



P 2,951,353 

SM 320,235 



1,146,000 

248,312 



57,985 
6,740 



360,608 
44,800 



650,000 
28,000 



250,000 
20,591 



376,410 

58,168 



482,422 

7,226 



3,050,000 
432,297 



R $2,929,547 
E 4,505,504 



R $27,603,087 
E 24,777,360 



R $4,910,000 
E 8,634,571 



^3.819,211 
3,904,657 



51,853,600 

2,688,000 



51,780,080 
2,196,006 



$4,505,523 

4,428,298 



$4,194,998 
4,023,687 



$853,258 
740,428 



$969,854 
950,000 



R $3,272,740 
E 3,122,063 



R $38,900,000 
E 54,600,000 



I $5,000,<K)(> 

E 5,600.000 



I $22,740,0i,0 

E 37,771,440 

I $10,787,634 

E 13,711,511 



$3,116,290 
0,187,062 



$6,000,000 
5,371,912 



$3,073,000 
4,968,000 



$2,217,000 
3,918,912 



$7,971,000 

8,474,t.00 



I $1,745,654 
E l,54i>,809 



E $1,305,000 

I $22,294,542 
E 4,583,538 



I $27,000,000 
E 45,000,000 



COMPARED WITH PRINCIPAL NATIONS OK TIIK WORLD. 



Public Debt. '^^^f^-^-^n^^J^s^^:;:: 

Telegraph. Footing 


' GiHiii HiKi Porato ~^ 
e rroduction in Postal 

Bushels. Department. 


^.•30,000,000 


RR 
T 


31 
475 




~* 


$77,654,238 


RR 
T 


1,04C 

4,45( 


> Army, 3,500 

Navy 1800) G 10,000,000 

Vessels, 22 / 




$19,071,219 


RR 
T 


46? 
1,520 


A .S,000 






$12,000,000 


RR 
T 


74 
193 


A 900 




1 


$18,350,400 


RR 
T 


76 
210 


A 1200 
V 3} 






$388,900 


RR 
T 


none. ? 
39 






PO 20 
Letters 299,676 


$3,877,384 


RR 
T 


none. ? 
1,100 


A 3,200 






$14,000,000 






A 6,828 

V 2} 
















$3,780,000 
(Eepudiated.) 






A 4,000 






$1,578,609 ,^^ 


90 
1,000 


A 1500 






$2,078,885 












$281,340,683 , 

^- — 


[iR 


2,350 
608 . 


^ 4,670 
V 18 } 








2i6 THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. [1620 

ODR COUNTRY'S ACHIEVEMENTS. 

HE earliest settlement that remained permanent in the 
United States was at Jamestown, Virginia. Sir Walter 
Raleigh, who was at one time a great favorite of 
Elizabeth, the Queen of England, was very much 
interested in making a settlement in America, and 
expended a vast amount of money to forward his plans. 
But his colonies always failed for some cause or another. 
Sometimes the colonists would return in disgust at the 
hardships which they had to endure. One colony was 
murdered by the Indians, and when help came nothing but 
ruins could be found, and one colony was lost, and its fate is 
unknown to this day. At last, in 1606, a grant was given by 
kO the king to a company who could colonize any part of 
'^ America claimed by the English and trade with the natives. 
.$^ Under this grant, a company of one hundred and five men set 
^ out for Virginia in three vessels. One-half of this number 
^ ^ were gentlemen of broken fortunes, some were trades-people, 
and some were footmen. There was not a farmer or mechanic among- them. 
There was one man in this band who was a born hero and leader, — John 
Smith. They came to the James river and laid the foundation of a set< 
tlement, which they named Jamestown, in honor of the king. Here were 
planted the seeds of the first settlement that took root and flourished. 
The colonists, unaccustomed to toil, worked manfully and erected their 
homes in the wilderness, and planted their wheat. When the summer 
came, the supply of food was low, and many of the settlers died from 
the heat and hardships; but winter brought them better climate and 
abundant supplies of game and fish, with a good harvest of wheat. Smith 
set out to explore the country, was captured by the Indians; and after 
puzzling them for a time with the mysteries of the pocket compass and the 
art of writing, was rescued from death by Pocahontas, the young daughter of 
the Indian chief, Powhatan, who had decided to kill him. When Smith 
returned from his captivity with the savages, he found his colony on the very 
point of breaking up. Only thirty-eight were living, and these were making 
preparations to leave. But the return of their leader inspired them with new 
hope, and they resumed their work. New colonists joined them from 
England, but they were of a class known as " vagabond gentlemen, who had 
packed off to escape worse destinies at home." The reputation of the colony 
was so bad, that we are told that some, rather than come to Virginia, 
" chose to be hung, and were" These were the undesirable subjects whom 
Smith was obliged to rule with an authority that none dared to question. 
But unfortunately for the colony. Smith was obliged to return to England to 
procure surgical treatment for an injury caused by an accidental discharge of 
gunpov/der. In six months the colony was again redi^ced to sixty men, and 



1733] 



THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. 



217 



were making ready to depart, when Lord Baltimore, their new governor, 
came and prevented them. Once more the settlement was saved on the very 
verge of dissolution. 

Years of quiet growth followed, and a better class of emigrants came. 
There was a great demand for tobacco, — a new plant unknown to Europe 
until Sir Walter Raleigh introduced it into England ; — and the colonists 
found it growing in Virginia, and learned its cultivation from the natives. It 
was in extensive use among the Indians, and regarded as a medicine. The 
use of this plant spread in England very rapidly, and created a demand for 
its supply, and the Virginians found it a most profitable crop to cultivate. 

In the absence of money, tobacco became a medium of exchange among 
the colonists. Salaries of officers and ministers, fines in churches and State 
were paid with it. In a few years after the first settlement there was a 
written Constitution. They had a House of Parliament chosen by the people, 
and a governor sent out from England. The Episcopal church was 
recognized as the State church, and the colony was divided into parishes. A 
college was founded, and the Indians were friendly. The first white child 
born in America v/as here baptized by the name of Virginia Dare. 
Pocahontas went to England with her husband, a young colonist by the name 
of John Rolfe, where she was kindly received by the queen, and made the 
recipient of many favors; but she died at Gravesend, March, 1617, just as she 
was about to return to America with her husband. She left an infant son, 
from whom some of the noblest families of Virpfinia descended. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. 



LITTLE more than two centuries ago, the part of the 

United States we call New England, was one vast forest, 

with here and there a little clearing where a few Indian 

families made their temporary home, and raised their 

scanty supply of corn. But it was destined to become 

.J^ the abode of hardy and devout people, who by their 

<^jT^industry and frugality were to lay the basis of a mighty 

nation upon the broad foundation-stones of civil and 

ous liberty. 

A noble band of men who were denied the liberty of worship 
ch they desired in their own land, resolved to escape from 
and to Holland to find the freedom denied by their own 
ntrymen. Mr. Robinson, a wise and good man, had been their 
ister, and after straggling bands of Pilgrims, as they were 
, reached Holland, their pastor joined them. They remained 
here eleven years receiving additions, from time to time, from those who were 
anxious to be free from religious oppression. Then it was decided to establish 




2i8 THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. [1620 

a new State in America where they could be free to worship God, and not fear 
any alliances with the nations around them. 

Enough money was raised among them to equip and send one hundred 
of their number to the new world. A ship called the Mayflower was chartered 
to take them across the stormy Atlantic. On a morning in July this vanguard 
of freedom knelt on the sea-shore at Delftshaven to listen to the prayers of 
their pastor, and receive his parting blessing. The vessel was of one hundred 
and sixty tons burden, an old hulk which would not now be considered safe 
for a coast-wise trip in fair weather. 

After repeated delays, the expedition set sail in the early part of Sep- 
tember, 1620, and after a long and stormy voyage, dropped her anchor in the 
waters of Cape Cod Bay on the iith of November of the same year. It was 
a cold and barren coast which met their view, with low sand hills devoid of 
any vegetation except long grass and low dwarf trees. 

The Pilgrims hesitated so long about the place to begin a settlement, that 
the captain threatened to put them all on shore and leave them. They went 
out to explore, and finally chose a spot where they decided to found their 
colony. They landed on the 22nd of December upon Plymouth rock, and 
began the Colony which they called by the name of the city in England 
which they had left. Here they were in an unknown wilderness, the winter 
upon them with scant supplies and no shelter. But they worked manfully to 
build their little town, sadly hindered by the severe cold and the death of 
their comrades, who fell around them. They erected nineteen houses, sur- 
rounded them with a palisade, and then on the hill they erected a building 
which served the double purpose of a fort and a church. The severe winter 
passed, and when the spring came their numbers had been sadly reduced by 
death ; but now the health and spirits of the survivors began to improve. 

The little band had signed a civil compact in the cabin of the Mayflower 
before they landed, in which they formed themselves into a government, and 
chose John Carver as their governor. They acknowledged King James as 
their sovereign, but were emphatically a self governing commonwealth. 

They had known enough of the despotism of Kings, and were quite sure 
that democracy could not be any worse, and they had faith to try the 
experiment. 

From this small beginning came the establishment of self-government 
over all the country. 

P'or some years, the difificulties which beset the infant colonists were well 
nigh insurmountable, but their faith failed not, and after a time prosperity 
came to them. 

Each summer new additions were made to their number, of men and 
women who had caught the spirit of religious freedom, and sought to find 
here an asylum from the tyrannies to which they were subject in their old 
homes. Thus New England became the place of refuge to many of the 
wearied victims of persecution, and seemed a paradise to those who were 



1733] THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. 219 

denied the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. 
Whole congregations with their pastors came to swell the number. 

The men were stout of heart and patient in toil, and their industry and 
labor brought them comfort. They were simple in manners and plain in 
dress ; their wants were few and these were supplied by the harvests of the 
autumn, by their success in hunting and fishing and by the flocks they raised. 
The women carded, spun and wove the wool. The men felled the forests and 
built houses and vessels, erected cities and formed new towns in the woods. 
The ships they built crossed the ocean and carried their freights of timber, 
fish and furs. Commerce sprung up and prosperity smiled upon the settlers. 
They early made friends with the Indians, and one of the most pleasant 
episodes in the early days of the Colony was the visit and friendly aid of 
Massasoit, a chief who lived at Sowansee, now Warren, Rhode Island. 

He came with his brother and sixty warriors to the little settlement in 
March, 1621, the spring which followed the first severe winter in the new 
world. He made a league of friendship with the English, and for forty years 
was their staunch friend and protector, never failing them in all their dangers 
and hardships. His influence saved the little band from destruction by the 
Narragansets. Two years after his visit the old chief was taken very sick, 
and would have died if the governor had not sent him Mr. Winslow who used 
simple remedies which effected a cure ; and in his great joy and gratitude he 
said, " Now I see that the English are my friends and love me, and while I 
live I will never forget the kindness they have shown me." 

The kindness of this Indian was of great value to the Colony as long as 
he lived, and he was highly respected by them. 

The Colonists of New England paid great attention to the subject of 
education, believing that it was of vital importance to the preservation of the 
State and Church. In a few years schools began to appear, and a law was 
passed that every town of fifty freeholders should maintain a common school, 
and every town of one hundred, must sustain a grammar school. Some 
tolerably qualified brother was chosen and " entreated to become school- 
master. " Harvard College was established within fifteen years after the 
Pilgrim fathers landed at Plymouth. 

Twenty-three years after the landing, there were twenty-four thousand 
white people in New England. Forty-nine wooden towns, and four Colonies 
namely, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Haven. There 
seemed at first a desire to scatter widely, push out into the wilderness, form 
new settlements and set up self-government, each for itself. But this 
separation could not long exist for there were other human beings in the 
wilderness beside the white settlers, and these had a prior claim tliere. 
Within calling distance there were Indians enough when aroused and com- 
bined to drive out all the colonists. And beyond the frontiers were I'rench 
and Dutch settlements. So it came to pass that the four Colonies were forced 
to form themselves for mutual protection and encouragement, into a band 
called "The United Colonies of New England." This was the first confed. 



220 



THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. 



[1620 



cration in a land which was destined afterwards to estabUsh this form of 
government on a scale the world had never seen before. Nor was this done 
any too soon, for there were troublous times to come, and these earnest God- 
fearing men found that they would need all the strength which a united 
assistance and a common bond would bring. 

Massasoit was dead, and all the efforts of the English to Christianize and 
civilize the natives had produced but little effect. 

THE INDIAN WAR. 

HE great Indian Apostle, Rev. John Eliot, was the 
pastor of the church at Roxbury. He was moved by 
pity to carry the Gospel to the tribes around him, and 
for this purpose learned their language, and translated 
the Bible by means of an alphabet of his own. 

He preached to them in their own tongue, and 
many became converts. He even attempted to 
establish a college for the Indian youth, but was obliged to 
abandon this undertaking on account of their natural love of 
idleness and strong drink. They would not work. They could 
indeed be taught to rest on the Sabbath, but they would not 
labor on the other six days. This was a great cause of 
^ hindrance, but in spite of the general discouragement, there 
were many noble exceptions, and the hold which Christianity 
.^ took upon those who accepted it was never wholly lost. In 
the Indian wars which arose, the converts were never found 
fighting against the English, but usually united in aiding them. 
At length came the short but bitter war with King Philip, the younger son of 
the old chief, Massasoit, the friend of the colonies. Even his enemies will 
acknowledge that this savage chief was a hero. The noble old chief who had 
been faithful to his early friendship with the English, had two sons, whom 
governor Winslow had named Alexander and Philip. Alexander had. 
succeeded his father, but had died, and Philip had become chief. He was 
noble-hearted, patriotic, and filled with good sense. He was a statesman as 
well as a warrior, and at first was friendly to the settlers. But he saw that the 
whites were crowding year by year upon his domain ; still he kept the treaties 
which his father had made, and even submitted to grave insults from the 
white men. There came a time when he could endure this no longer, 
and he arose in war against them. The war spread throughout New 
England, and the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts united to meet 
them. In a week the Indian chief was driven out of his beautiful 
home on Mount Hope, Rhode Island, and went a fugitive to other 
tribes, arousing them to vengeance. The whites thought the war was 
over, but it had just begun. The powerful tribes of the Narragansets 
joined in the war. The Indians avoided the white troops, and carried on the 




1/33] THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. 221 

warfare, after their savage fashion, by plundering towns and villages, and 
killing defenceless women and children. Whole villages were wiped out, and 
no one could feel safe. The fields, the homes, the churches, the very beds of 
the poor colonists were liable to be attacked without warning, and a general 
massacre of all would follow. Out of one hundred towns twelve were entirely 
destroyed, and more than forty others were more or less plundered. Josiah 
Winslow, with a brave band of settlers, captured the principal fort of the 
Narragansets, which stood where South Kingston, Rhode Island, now is, and 
destroyed it. Their chief, Canonchet, was soon afterwards taken, and offered 
his life if he would submit ; but he proudly refused. When he was 
condemned to death, he said, " I like it well ; I shall die before I speak 
anything unworthy of myself." 

The close of 1675 brought an end to the war. King Philip saw that he 
could not prevent the other tribes from making peace, and the most of his 
own warriors had fallen. When he heard that his wife and child had been 
taken by the English, he exclaimed in his anguish, " My heart breaks ; now I 
am ready to die." 

He was shot in the swamp by a traitor Indian, and his body given to 
Church, the captain of a party who were pursuing them. According to 
custom, the head of Philip was severed from his body, and carried on a pole 
to Plymouth, where it was set up in sight of the people for a number of days. 
The body was quartered and hung on trees. In this way did our enlightened 
ancestors retaliate upon the Indian warrior and statesman, who labored and 
fought for the rights of his tribe. There were now scarcely one hundred of 
the Narragansets left, and their last Sachem, the sole survivor of the 
family of Massasoit, was carried to Bermuda and sold into slavery. 

Annawon was the next in command over the Indian forces after the 
escape of Philip, and the same captain, Benjamin Church, who had taken the 
head of the king to Plymouth, was sent to capture him. Church became 
separated from his company, and had only one white man and five friendly 
Indians when he heard where Annawon and his band of fifty warriors were 
encamped. These men succeeded in surprising the chief, and taking him a 
captive to Boston, where he was put to death by the English, after he had 
surrendered all the royal emblems of Philip. The whites had no excuse for 
this act of wanton cruelty. 




222 THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. [1609 



SETTLEMENT OE NEW YORK. 




'^'W^ 






ENDRICK HUDSON, an explorer in the employ of 
the Dutch, had discovered and sailed up the river which 
bears his name, in the year 1609. Three or four 
years after the Pilgrims had landed at Plymouth, the 
Dutch West India Company resolved to establish a 
j^ trading post with the Indians. They sent out a 
"<^^'^^~ settlement in 1623, which located on Manhattan island 
)o/0 at the north of the Hudson, and built a town which they 
^•^ called New Amsterdam. They grew rich and numerous, until 
a war broke out with the Indians, who drove the settlers to the 
southern extremity of the island, and they built a wall across 
the island where Wall Street is now situated. The war came 
to an end, and for twenty years after there was a time of peace 
and prosperity under the government of a wise and sagacious 
man, Peter Stuyvesant. While his government was not 
faultless, the city flourished under it, and a continued flow of 
emigration came in from Europe. In the year 1664, when Peter was away 
from home, an English fleet appeared in the harbor to demand the territory 
in the name of their sovereign. Charles II. had given his brother James of 
York, a large tract of country, embracing the land on which the Dutch city 
stood. 

Peter at first was willing to fight them single-handed ; but the English 
settlers would not fight against their king, and the Dutch, who remembered 
some of the petty tyrannies of Peter would not join him. At length he yielded 
to the entreaties of two ministers and many of the people, and the city of 
fifteen hundred inhabitants quietly passed into the hands of the English, 
and its name was changed to New York. With this city the Dutch also 
gave up their settlements in New Jersey, which they had taken from the 
Swedes, and so the English had the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts Bay 
to Georgia. 





'733.1 



THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. 



223 



THE LAND OF PENN. 




ILLIAM PENN, the son of an English admiral, who 
had won many noted victories for the Crown, became 
a Quaker, to the dismay of his friends, just at the time 
a brilliant future spread out before him. At first the 
father was furious and turned his son out of doors, 
hoping that hunger would soon cause him to recant ; 
but the admiral relented and restored him to favor. 
When his father died, soon after the reconciliation, young Penn 
inherited his possessions, and among the rest a claim for $80,000 
due the admiral from the king. Penn, who had formed in his mind a 
design to establish a settlement in America for the persecuted 
members of his own sect, offered to take payment of the king in 
land ; and Charles was ready enough to bestow upon his subject a 
vast region stretching westward from the Delaware River. Penn 
then came to America with the noble purpose of founding a 
free and self governing State, where, as he said, he could show men 
as free and " as happy as they can be." He proclaimed to the men who were 
already settled within his territory, " Whatever sober and free men can 
reasonably desire, I will comply with." He was true to his word ; and when 
they sent representatives his people met them and a Constitution was framed. 
Penn confirmed this arrangement. He also dealt honorably and kindly with 
the Indians, and bought their lands of them, and in return they respected and 
loved him. The conference with the natives was held under a large elm 
which stood in the forest where Philadelphia now is, and a monument marks 
the spot. All was to be " openness and love," and " no advantage was to be 
taken on either side." For long years the Indians recounted the words of 
Penn, and the blood of a Quaker was never shed by an Indian on the soil of 
Pennsylvania. 

The fame of Penn's new State went abroad to all lands, and it grew veiy 
rapidly with grave and God-fearing men, who came from all parts of Europe. 
During the first year, two thousand persons arrived, and Philadelphia became 
a town of six hundred houses. A few years later Penn returned to England, 
and reported that " things went on sweetly with the P>iends in Pennsylvania; 
that they increased finely, in outward things and in wisdom." 
The settlement of Pennsylvania was founded in 1682. 



224 



THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. [1620 




SETTLEMENTS IN THE OTHER COLONIES. 

HE thirteen original States were Virginia, Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, 
Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Connecticut was settled by men and women from 
Massachusetts, in two colonies. One came through the 
wilderness and settled in Windsor above Hartford ; the 
other came by water and settled in New Haven. 

Rhode Island was settled by Roger Williams, a minister 
of Salem, who declared that the State had to do with the 
" bodies and goods and outward estates " of men. In the 
domain of conscience God alone was the ruler. He was 
banished and went to Rhode Island, where he obtained a grant 
^^ of land from the Indians and laid the foundation of a new 
jy State. He founded the city of Providence and proclaimed 
y'JWK'^/ that his settlement was to become a " shelter for persons 
►^(g^^ distressed for conscience sake." And so has it ever been. 
New Hampshire was settled by colonists from Massachusetts, of which it 
was a part from 1641 to 1679. 

Delaware was named in honor of Lord Delaware, who came to Virginia 
to aid the colony at Jamestown, in 161 1. It was first settled by the Swedes, 
in the year 1627, and passed, as we have seen, into the hands of the Dutch 
and then to the English. Penn annexed it to his new State. In the year 
1703, it was returned to its former condition as a separate colony. 

Maryland was first settled in 163 1, by a band of adventurers from 
Virginia, under one Captain Clayborne, and received a charter from the king 
making it a distinct province, named after the queen, his wife. 

New Jersey was first settled by the Dutch in 1612, and then by the 
Swedes and Danes. It afterwards passed into the hands of the English when 
they took possession of New York in 1664. 

North Carolina was permanently settled under a grant from King Charles 
II., in 1663. John Locke, the celebrated Scotch metaphysician, wrote a 
code of laws which were in force in this colony for twenty-five years. 

South Carolina received its first well-defined settlement in 1663, under a 
charter from Charles II., when a number of English noblemen built a city at 
Port Royal, and established themselves -in a government. The city of 
Charleston, named in honor of the king, was founded in 1680, and thereafter 
the growth of the colony was very rapid. 

Geo*-gia was the latest of the colonies, and the farthest south of any of 
the English possessions in America during the time of colonial history. It 
was settled in 1733, when General Oglethorpe founded the city of Savannah. 
He obtamed a charter from Charles II. of all the land between the Savannah 
River and the Altamaha, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. It was 



1733] 



THE AGE OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. 



225 



designed to be a refuge for the deserving poor and for Protestants suffering 
persecution. Parliament voted $50,000 to aid in carrying forward this noble 
enterprise. One hundred and twenty persons came in the first expedition 
under the leadership of General Oglethorpe, and were kindly received by the 
Indians. The next year a hundred Germans came and were assigned a place, 
which they in gratitude named, Ebenezer. They were steady and industrious 
and eagerly applied themselves to the raising of silk and indigo. The fame 
of the colony spread through Europe and attracted large numbers. Thus 
was planted on the eastern shore of the continent a chain of English colonies 
like a vanguard, which was in time to conquer the wilderness and fill the 
land with busy towns and thriving villages. The hum of machinery was to 
be heard along its water-courses. Its hills were to resound to the whistle of 
the shop and locomotive. The wharfs of its cities were to be crowded with 
commerce from all parts of the world, and a stream of emigration was to pour 
in from all the crowded nations of the East, and an empire would be erected 
upon the foundation that these feeble colonies were laying. Each distinct, 
with no common bond but the slight allegiance to a distant sovereign, they 
were to become united in one mighty compact, and together give the world 
its highest example of a free government of the people and for the people. 
These earnest men builded better than they knew, and shaped the destinies 
of the unborn millions who should come after them. 




BATTLE MONUMENT, BALTIMORE. 




FTER the establishment of the colonies which stretched 
along the Atlantic coast from the Penobscot to the 
Altamaha, and owned allegiance to the English king, 
there came a period of formation and growth in which 
they developed their natural resources and established 
their commerce, built colleges and seminaries, and grew 
in all things which increased their prosperity and 
strength. The Indian tribes were subdued, the forests 
were cleared and cities and towns sprang up as if by magic. 
Manufactories were built and agriculture was flourishing. The 
colonies were left alone by the home government and allowed to 
direct their own affairs. In some cases a Governor was sent 
from England to rule the colony, but the laws were enacted by 
representatives chosen by the people. In others the people had 
the right to elect their own Governors. They regulated their 
own commerce and internal trade and directed their own 
taxation and system of religion and education. 

We will take a hasty glance at the condition of each colony during this 

period. 

In New England we will find some things that may surprise us. The 
early settlers had been a religious, sensible people, but when they left Europe 
there was a universal belief in witchcraft. King James had written a strange 
book on Demonology, in which he said that to forbear to put witches to 
death was an " odious treason against God," and the people were no wiser 
than their king. 

The superstition spread to America, or -was brought thither by the ship- 
loads of emigrants who were flocking over the sea to find a home here. All 
at once it burst out like a fearful scourge in the little town of Salem, 
Massachusetts, now a fine city. 

There was here a minister by the name of Parris. The daughter and 
the niece of this clergyman fell ill of a strange nervous disorder. The doctors 
claimed that they were bewitched, and the minister set out at once to find 
out who were the offenders. Three old women were suspected, and taken 
into custody. From this the mania spread, and every one became alarmed 
and suspicious. No one was safe. Witches were supposed to ride in the air 
at night. Even the beasts were not safe, and once a dog was solemnly 
condemned to death for taking some part in a satanic festival. 

The prisons were filled with the accused, and many were put to death. 
The town of Falmouth hanged its minister; and the wise and intelligent 
were no more secure than the low and ignorant. The wild panic lasted for a 



1775] THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 227 

whole year. Those who confessed that they were wizards or witches were set 
free for the most part, while those who denied it were judged guilty and 
hanged. Many refused to buy their life by falsehood and miserably perished. 
The delusion spread wide like a forest fire, until the whole colony was filled 
with terror. But the reaction came as suddenly as the outbreak of the 
mania. The Governor put an end to all the persecution, stopped the 
prosecutions, dismissed all the suspected, and pardoned the condemned ; and 
the General Court proclaimed a fast. They entreated that God would 
pardon the errors of the people " in the late tragedy caused by Satan and his 
instruments." One of the judges with bowed head stood in his pew in a 
church in Boston while a paper was read asking the prayers of the 
congregation, that the innocent blood which he had shed in error might 
not be laid to him, or the country. The Salem jury asked forgiveness 
of God and of the community for what they had done under the power 
of a strong and general delusion. Reverend Mr. Parris was obliged to 
resign his church and leave the town a broken man. The error of New 
England had been great and lamentable, but her repentance was deep and 
sincere. Strange as was this wide-spread delusion, there is another chapter in 
colonial history none the less strange. The very men who had come across 
the ocean to find religious liberty, in their turn became persecutors and 
bigots. They had discovered that the restraints laid upon them for 
conscience' sake were unjust and grievous, and while they claimed toleration 
for themselves they had not learned that others had as good a right to think 
for themselves. 

After a few years of cheerful religious liberty there began to arise strange 
doctrines which they thought it their duty to put down at all hazards. 
Roger Williams, a young clergyman — " godly and zealous " — landed in 
Boston in 163 1, with strange notions he had brought with him. He had been 
the friend of John Milton and taught him the Dutch language. Long and 
serious study had convinced him that in regard to creed and form of worship, 
man was alone responsible to his Creator, and no one is entitled to lay 
compulsion upon another man in reference to his religious opinions. 

The colonists were not ready to receive these opinions although Williams 
was settled as a pastor over the church in Salem, where he was held in high 
esteem. But his bold preaching drew down upon him the wrath of the 
authorities, and deserted by his church and his own wife, he was banished to 
Rhode Island where he established a colony for perfect religious toleration, 
as we have before seen. 

Williams had a forgiving spirit and twice saved the Puritan colonies 
from their enemies. But they continued to whip the Baptists, and when the 
■Quakers came to Boston the General Court proclaimed a fast, and cast them 
into prison. Their books were burned by the common hangman, and ship 
masters were forbidden to bring any Quakers into the colony. They were 
publicly whipped, had their tongues seared with a red-hot iron and were 
banished under penalty of death if they returned. Four persons suffered 



228 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. [1773 

death ; others had their ears cut off. The Quakers had friends at home, and 
in 1661 a letter came in the king's name directing that the authorities in New 
England should forbear to proceed farther against the Quakers. The letter 
came by the hand of a Quaker who was under sentence of death if he 
returned. But they did not dare to do otherwise than respect it. With this 
closed the most shameful chapter in the history of New England. 

A writer on the history of these times offers the following excuse for the 
persecution of this peaceful sect : " But, in justice to New England, it must 
be told that the first generation of Quakers differed extremely from 
succeeding generations. They were a fanatical people, — extravagant, intem- 
perate in speech, rejectors of lawful authority. They believed themselves 
guided by an * inner light,' which habitually placed them at variance with the 
laws and customs of the country in which they lived. George Fox declared 
that 'the Lord forbade him to put off his hat to any man.' His followers 
Were provokingly aggressive. They invaded public worship. They openly 
expressed their contempt for the religion of their neighbors. They 
perpetually came with ' messages from the Lord,' which were not pleasant to 
listen to. They appeared in public places very imperfectly attired, thus 
symbolically to express and to rebuke the spiritual nakedness of the time. 
The second generation of New England Quakers were people of beautiful 
lives, spiritual-minded, hospitable, and just. When their zeal allied itself 
with discretion, they became a most valuable element in American society. 
They have firmly resisted all social evils. Btit we can scarcely wonder that 
they created alarm at first. The men of New England took a very simple 
view of the subject. They had bought and paid for every acre of soil which 
they occupied. Their country was a homestead from which they might 
exclude whom they chose. They would not receive men whose object seemed 
to be to overthrow their customs, civil and religious. It was a mistake, 
but a most natural mistake. Long afterwards, when New England saw her 
error, she made what amends she could, by giving compensation to the 
representatives of those Quakers who had suffered in the evil times," 




1723] 



THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



229 




THE GROWTH AND GOVERNMENT OF THE 

COLONIES. 



T the first there was some diversity in the form of 
government in the different colonies, but as time passed 
on this lessened, and one general type came to be 
in force in them all. The governor was appointed by 
the king, and he had to depend upon the assembly of 
^ , I'cpresentatives chosen from the people, for the moneys 
^^,^^**X^%i^ needed to carry on the Government and execute its laws. 
*^~^ ' J\'^ So as the time of separation drew near the governors found 

p their powers very much circumscribed by the heavy pressure which 
the Assembly brought to bear upon them. When the governor as 
the king's representative had a falling out with the popular will as 
expressed by the representatives of the Commonwealth they 
assumed the whole business of government. They were in fact, 
a self-governing people who held a pride in their connection with 
^^^-^ the mother country, but if their governors encroached too much 
^^""^ upon their rights, they were ready to resist them to the utmost. 
Virginia had two councils at first, one appointed by the king, and the other 
elected by the colonists, but both were under control of the king. In a few 
years the representative system prevailed, but the governor retained the 
power of veto. She was more closely allied to the Crown than the more 
northern colonies, and remained loyal to the Stuarts. Charles II. ruled her 
while in exile, and Virginia refused to recognize the dictator, Cromwell. 
Refugees from England were gladly received during these troublous times, 
and when the Stuarts were returned, her joy was unbounded. 

On the other hand the colonists of New England had come to America 
to get rid of kingly rule, and were of a different spirit and temper. In the 
little cabin of the Mayflower they had signed their compact of government 
and selected their own governor. Every member of the church was an 
elector, and could hold office. This democratic form of government 
continued for sixty years, until the despotic James II. took it away and 
appointed a governor of his own choosing. They cordially supported 
Cromwell, and hesitated for two years after the restoration of Charles II. 
before they recognized him as their king. These colonies were the most 
democratic and the least tolerant of kingly interference of any of the colonies 
in the New World. New York, which had been given to the Duke of York, 
had its governor appointed by him. Pennsylvania was bestowed upon Penn, 
who had a right to name its governor. But at last all the colonies came 
to receive a governor from the king. Connecticut held out longer than the 
rest, and when the governor, appointed by the king, came to Hartford to 



230 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. [1755 

demand the charter of the colony ; it was hidden in the hollow of an oak tree» 
afterward known as the Charter Oak. 

While the colonies had as yet no thought of separation from the Old 
Country they were still in the presence of a common enemy. The French 
had taken Canada and the present State of Louisiana, and thus were 
stretching down from the north, and up from the south, a line of trading 
posts and settlements, which was a continual menace to the western frontier 
of the colonies. The French were inciting the Indians to attack the English, 
and there were constant incursions upon the pioneers who were moving 
westward from the coast. Sooner or later the trial of strength must come 
between these rival forces. The French claimed the Mississippi River and 
the fertile valley of the Ohio. To establish this claim, they sent three 
hundred soldiers into this valley and nailed upon the trees leaden plates 
bearing the French coat of arms, and drove out the scattering English who 
had ventured there. The English, on their part, had given large grants of 
land to a trading company, who agreed to colonize the valley, establish trading 
relations with the natives, and a competent military force. This was in 1749, 
and then the two nations were preparing for war. The home government 
left the colonies to carry on the struggle for themselves. 

Virginia raised a little army and appointed a young man of twenty-one, 
in whom they had great confidence to command it. His name was George 
Washington ; a name destined, a few years later, to become famous over the 
whole world. He started for a fort on the Ohio, to hold it as an out-post 
against the French, but after toiling on in the pathless forest for six weeks, 
he received intelligence that the French were coming towards him with a 
force far out-numbering his. He halted and built a fort, which he called 
Fort Necessity, because his men were half starved while building it. Nor did 
they build it any too soon ; for the French attacked the fort, and after a 
brave resistance, Washington was obliged to surrender, upon honorable terms, 
and return to Virginia. 

This campaign was honorable to Washington, but resulted in no especial 
advantage to the colonics. This contest between the colonies of French 
and English was going on for a year and a half before war was declared 
between the two great nations. But the English were aroused to the 
necessity of doing something to secure the rich Ohio valley, and they sent 
Edward Braddock, an officer of distinction, with two regiments of soldiers, to 
aid the colonies. He began his campaign in 1755, with two thousand troops. 
He had learned the best rules of war in the broad battle fields of Europe, but 
was perfectly unacquainted with the rude tactics of the West. Wash- 
ington was invited to join his staff, and the young man eager to retrieve his 
loss in the former campaign, assented. The English general started on his 
march, June loth, to reach Fort Duquesne, on the Ohio, the great center of 
French power in the valley. Ohio was the objective point of Washington in 
his former expedition, and was deemed of great importance. This fort had 
been built by the English and taken from them by the French. Benjamin 



1759] THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 231 

Franklin told General Braddock that " he would undoubtedly take the fort 
if he could reach it, but the long slender line which his army must form on 
the march would be cut like a thread in several pieces by the hostile Indians." 
Braddock "smiled at his ignorance." Franklin offered no further opinion, 
but performed his duties of collecting horses and equipage for the army. 
The young aid-de-camp, Washington, offered some suggestions based on his 
experience, but the general would not listen to any advice from a provincial 
subordinate. No scouts were sent out, and the commander did not know 
how near his unseen foes might be. He was marching along a road twelve 
feet wide, when suddenly an Indian war-hoop burst upon the air, and a 
murderous fire opened upon them. The battle lasted three hours and 
General Braddock was killed. " Who would have thought it ? " said the 
dying man as they carried him from the field. 

Washington was the only mounted officer who remained unharmed, 
while the regulars, seeing their general fall, fled in confusion. But young 
Washington rallied the provincials and covered the retreat of the regulars 
with such a desperate defense that the Indians did not follow. One half of 
the entire force had been killed, and the remainder returned, disheartened and 
broken, at the end of a disastrous expedition. 

War was now proclaimed between France and England, and the siege of 
Quebec by the English General Wolfe followed. This was the crowning 
achievement of a long and tedious war which established the English in 
possession of Canada, and saved the Northwest to the Anglo-Saxon crown. 

The English fleet came to Quebec in June, 1759, with a large force. 
Captain James Cook, the famous navigator, who had been the first to sail 
around the world, was in charge of one of the ships, and General Wolfe had 
command of the army. The city was divided into an upper town, on the 
heights of Abraham, beyond the reach of the guns from the fleet, and a lower 
town, on the banks of the river. The lower town was quickly reduced, but 
the upper town held out against any attempt of the English. But the 
enthusiastic young general was not to be baffled, and carefully searched the 
coast for miles around. He found an opening where a path led up to the 
heights above, and here Wolfe resolved to land his men, lead an attack and 
capture the French position, or perish in the attempt. One night in 
September, he landed his men silently, and they quietly clambered up the 
high hill, while the sailors contrived to drag up a few heavy guns. When the 
morning rose the whole army stood on the Heights of Abraham. 

Montcalm, the French commander, was so taken by surprise at the 
presence of the enemy, that he refused to believe the first report which came to 
him. But he lost no time in forming his line of battle, and made a fierce and 
bloody contest with his unexpected assailants. Both generals fell in the 
conflict, Wolfe dying happy at the thought of the French defeat. As his 
blood was flowing he heard the shouts, "They fly! They fly!" He raised 
his head to ask, "Who fly?" "The French," was the answer. "Then I die 
content," said the hero. The French General died thankful he was not 



232 



THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



L1755 



compelled to surrender to the English. These men died as enemies, but 
after-generations blended the two names upon a common monument, which 
marks out to posterity the scene of this decisive battle. The French made 
an ineffectual attempt to regain Quebec the following year. In due time the 
French surrendered Canada to the English ; at the same time, Spain gave up 
Florida to England ; and thus the English held undisputed possession of 
America from the regions of perpetual ice and snow to the Gulf of Mexico. 

All these contests with the savages and the French had fallen with heaviest 
weight upon the colonists, although they had received some assistance from 
the home government in the latter part of the struggle. The colonies had 
poured out their blood and treasure without stint and were loyal to their 
King. They were proud of the mother country, and were willing to do their 
utmost to support the honor of the English flag. A hundred and fifty years 
had passed since the settlement of the feeble colonies on the Atlantic coast. 
They were self-sustaining and prosperous and their increase in numbers and 
wealth was most remarkable. Thousands were coming every year to seek 
their fortunes in the West. America opened her wide arms to the oppressed 
and offered them the blessing of liberty and comfort. The thirteen colonies 
had increased to a population of three millions and were upon the eve of a 
mighty struggle. 




Tl WAR OF lEDEPElENGE. 





THE GATHERING CLOUD. 



T may be a natural question to ask, how it came to pass 

that in the short space of ten or twelve years the 

affection and respect which the colonies had for England, 

which they still fondly called " home," were changed to 

hatred and a desire for separation ? What cause had 

been at work to sever the bonds of attachment, and 

awaken the mighty spirit of resistance which spread all 

over the country ? For generations they had spoken the same 

language, and had a common code of laws, while glorying in the 

history of the past. 

England was the model in all things, and to be an " Old 
England man " gave one a prestige and position among the 
colonists ; while all yielded a willing obedience to her laws. They 
were governed, as Benjamin Franklin had said, " at the mere expense 
of ink and paper." Money was voted without grudge by their 
assemblies, and all the relations between the colonies and the home 
government were of the pleasantest kind, and such was their love 
for England that " they were led by a thread." 

But a wonderful change was wrought in the public mind, and the aroused 
people resolved in their public gathering by the most solemn compact, that 
they would not use any article of English manufacture, or engage in any 
transaction which would bring money into the pockets of the English. They 
tarred and feathered any person who expressed friendliness for the British, 




234 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1775 

and burned the acts of Parliament by the common hangman. They fired 
upon the king's soldiers, and resisted the authority of the king's government. 
In fact, the thirteen colonies were in open rebellion and armed resistance. 
What had caused this wonderful change, and how were three millions of 
obedient subjects taught to despise and fight against the very men whom 
they had before regarded as fellow countrymen ? The answer to these 
questions can be summed up in one sentence. The persistent ignorance and 
folly of the English government, urged on by cupidity and a desire to wring 
out of the prosperous colonies a rich revenue to replenish the depleted 
treasury of the country that had become exhausted in the expensive wars of 
Europe, wrought all this evil, and lost to the English crown her richest 
possessions in the western world. The result was that a new nation was 
formed that was destined to become the leading power of Christendom, but 
it would have been better if she had gone in peace, and thus not engendered 
an animosity that lasted for two generations, and led to two disastrous wars 
between men of the same language and religion. We come now to the story 
of this struggle. 

England had shown for many years a disposition to govern her American 
colonies in a spirit of harshness and undisguised selfishness. The interest of 
England was the chief object, and not the good of the colonies. No foreign 
vessels could land in American ports, and woolen fabrics could not be taken 
from one colony to another. At one time the manufacture of hats was 
forbidden. Iron works were prohibited, and up to the last the Bible could 
not be printed in America. The colonies had borne the expense of their own 
governments and defenses, but now the long-continued struggle had left the 
treasury of England very low, and Parliament came to discuss the propriety 
of taxing the colonies for the benefit of the home government. The eager 
eye of Lord Greenville was searching for something newto tax, and he saw 
that America was growing rich and powerful. The English officers who had 
served in the West, had brought back the most glowing accounts of its 
resources and prosperity. The English merchants were already envious of 
their increasing wealth. When the House of Commons passed their 
resolution setting forth their right to tax the colonies, not a single voice or 
vote opposed the measure. Thereupon an act was passed imposing a tax 
upon silks, sugar, coffee, and other articles used in the colonies. The 
Americans remonstrated, and claimed that taxation and representation should 
go together ; they were willing to vote what money the king might require 
of them, but they would not pay taxes when they had no voice in laying 
them. But Lord Greenville, who thought the Americans would finally submit, 
persisted in his course. The act called the Stamp Act was passed at the 
next session of Parliament in 1765, this required a government stamp on all 
legal documents. Benjamin Franklin told the House of Commons that 
America would never submit to this, and no power on earth could enforce it. 
Nor could England long misunderstand the position of the colonies upon this 



1765] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 235 

question. Everywhere in New England riots were raised, and the Stamp Act 
was denounced. 

The stamp distributors were obHged to resign. A universal protest that 
they would not eat, drink, or use anything which came from England, was 
passed by the citizens everywhere. The act came in force November ist, 
1765, and on that day the bells tolled, and the people appeared as if some 
great public calamity had fallen upon them. 

Not a stamp was sold in America, but business went on all the same, men 
were married, and bought and sold their goods. The courts were held and all 
the functions of government went on ; but all this was illegal because it was 
done without stamps. Yet no serious harm came of it. The English were 
astonished, and some demanded that the Stamp Act be enforced with the 
sword, but the British merchants feared the loss of their trade with the 
colonies if this were done. 

William Pitt, afterwards the Earl of Chatham, joined with the merchants 
and caused a repeal of the law the very next year. But stupid old King 
George never ceased to regret " the fatal repeal of the Stamp Act." 

The first inter-colonial Congress was raised during this excitement. It 
met at New York, but did little else than agitate and discuss the situation 
of things. It accomplished a good design in showing the tendency of Union 
between the States. 

The approaching crisis was delayed for a little time by the repeal of the 
Stamp Act. But when the feeling in England was stormy against the 
colonies, Charles Townshend, the virtual Prime Minister of England, during 
the sickness of Pitt, proposed to levy various taxes on America. All his 
proposed measures became laws. The most obnoxious of them was a tax of 
three pence a pound on tea. This act was passed in 1767. 

The Americans despaired of justice and right from the English Parliament, 
yet they hardly dared to think of open separation, but already the most 
thoughtful among them were becoming fixed in their opinion as to what the 
issue would be. They protested, they appealed, they held large public 
meetings, and everywhere the people were inflamed with a sense of their 
injuries, other laws restricting the liberties of America were passed by 
Parliament, and the people resorted to the last step in the solution of the 
fearful problem. Riots were raised, the foreign ofificials were resisted, and 
public meetings were held to deliberate upon their grievances. 

English troops were sent across the ocean to preserve order. Their 
presence was galling to the citizens, who could not brook this restraint upon 
their liberty. 

The press, the pulpit, and the assemblies of representatives in all the 
colonies were bold in their utterances against the tyranny of the old country. 
The General Court of Massachusetts, called on their governor to remove the 
soldiers, but he was powerless. The governor called upon the court to raise 
money to maintain the troops, and they took infinite pleasure in refusing to 



236 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1775 

raise money for that purpose. Then came the Boston massacre, in which the 
troops fired upon the citizens, and killed and wounded eleven persons. This 
inflamed the zeal of the patriots still more, and the entire populace was 
aroused. The people again demanded the removal of the troops from the 
city, and the trial of the soldiers for murder. This was complied with, and 
two of the soldiers were found guilty of murder, by a Boston jury. 

Parliament now wavered in its treatment of America, and removed all the 
duties, except the small one on tea. But they had mistaken the feeling of 
their colonies. It was not the amount of the tax to which they objected, 
but the principal of taxation without representation. 

In the spring of 1773, ships laden with the taxed tea, appeared in the 
bay of Boston. The crisis has now arrived. Although it is Sunday, a 
council was called in the exigency. If that tea is landed, it will be sold and 
liberty will become a by-word in America. 

Samuel Adams, a man of strict integrity and powerful eloquence as a 
speaker and writer, was the true leader of the revolt in Massachusetts. He 
was one of the first who saw at the outset that there could be no stopping- 
place short of independence. " We are free," he said, " and want no king." 
He assumed the leadership of his fellows, and was worthy of the trust. They 
hoped that the officers of the East Indian Company, in whose employ the 
ships were engaged, would send them back, but they refused. Days of intense 
excitement followed. Public meetings were held constantly in an old building, 
Faneuil Hall, afterward known as the cradle of American liberty. One day 
the debate waxed hot, and the people continued together till night-fall. 
Samuel Adams announced, "This meeting can do nothing more to save 
the country," and with a shout it broke up. The excited crowd hastened 
down to the wharf, led by fifty men disguised as Indians. This band of 
disguised men, rushed on ship board, broke open the boxes of tea, and 
poured their contents into the harbor. The crowd looked on in silence, and 
not a sound was heard but the striking of the hatchets, and the splash of the 
ruined tea in the water. That cargo of tea would bring no taxes into the 
English treasury, that was certain. This was the night of December i6th, 
1773, and was the first move of the colonists toward open resistance. Then 
they waited to see what might be the next move of England. 

Lord North was then Prime Minister of the English Crown, and he 
determined to deal harshly with such men. The port of Boston was closed as 
a port of entry and sailing for shipping; a heavy fine was imposed for the 
destruction of the tea. The charter of Massachusetts was revoked, and the 
governor was ordered to send political offenders to England for trial. In 
spite of the remonstrance of Lord Chatham, and of Edmund Burke, these 
measures became laws. Four regiments of regulars were sent to Boston, 
under the command of General Gage. The Americans held a day of fasting 
and prayer. More than this, they organized military companies, and began 
the process of equipment and drill. While all this was going on in the 
northen provinces, the other Colonies were not idle, but Massachusetts received 



1775] 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



237 



the heaviest blows of vengeance. An invitation to all the Colonies to meet 
in General Congress at Philadelphia, on the fifth day of September, 1774, was 
sent out by the sturdy Representatives, who met in Salem, Massachusetts. 
Twelve States sent delegations to this Congress. Georgia, the youngest and 
most southern of the thirteen Colonies, alone stood trembling upon the verge 
of the perilous enterprise. 

The first General Congress of the American States, met in Carpenter's 
Hall, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774, agreeable 
to this call. The regular business of the Congress, began on the 7th, and was 
opened v/ith prayer. In all their proceedmgs, decorum, firmness, moderation 
and loyalty were manifested, and the delegates voted to adjourn to the loth day 
of the following May, unless the English Crown in the meantime should redress 
their grievances. But King George was blind and stubborn. 

Lord Chatham said in open Parliament of the men who formed this 
Continental Congress : " For solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and 
wisdom of conclusion under such a complication of circumstances, no nation, 
or body of men can stand in preference to the General Congress in Phila- 
delphia." Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was President, and Charles 
Thompson, of Pennsylvania, was secretary of this body. George Washington, 
Patrick Henry, John Routledge, Richard Henry Lee, John Dickinson, and 
other men of that stamp were there. Washington assures us that this 
Congress did not aim at independence, but a removal of wrongs. The time 
was ripe for open resistance, and the patriots of Massachusetts were busy in 
the autumn and winter of 1774, in making preparations for war, and uniting 
the people to meet the storm that was sure to come. 



■^»fe 




238 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1775 




THE BURSTING OF THE STORM. 

O alternative was now left to the colonists, and they 
saw that they must fight for their liberties or forego 
them altogether. Throughout the State of Massachu- 
setts, where the heel of the oppressor was planted the 
heaviest, the most active preparations were in progress. 
^^ Minute men were drilling, and stores of arms and 
■^el^^ ammunition were being collected in central places, 
where they would be considered safe from seizure by the 
British. The press and the pulpit vied with the rostrum in 
their bold defiance of the aggression of the soldiers. Fathers 
and sons were urged on by their wives and mothers, and the 
spirit of freedom incited them to deeds of danger and sacrifice. 
The officers of the English Government were insulted, the 
soldiers defied, and the laws set at defiance. Such was the 
condition of things when the spring of 1775 dawned upon the 
conflict. This is regarded as the first year of the long struggle of 
seven years which was to test the strength of the young country in 
her contest with the victorious armies of English warriors who came 
fresh from the battle-fields of Europe. 

General Gage, the commander of the British forces in Boston, had 
learned that a large amount of military stores were secreted at Concord, 
eighteen miles away. He decided to send an expedition to seize it in the 
king's name. He sent eight hundred soldiers upon the errand. To prevent 
the tidings from being carried to the patriots the general forbade any one 
going out of Boston. The troops were silently landed at the foot of the 
Common, where the tide then reached, under the pretence of learning a new 
kind of drill. Doctor Warren, afterwards killed at Bunker Hill, made 
arrangements with his friend, Paul Revere, to carry " the tidings to every 
Middlesex village and farm." Young Revere escaped from Boston in a small 
boat just five minutes before the guard was stationed to prevent any one from 
leaving the city. He was to notify Hancock and Adams who were at 
Lexington, and to arouse the people all along the route. Revere waited on 
the Charlestown shore until his friend should learn how the British were to 
proceed. He was to hang a lantern in the North Church tower, " one if by 
land and two if by sea." At the instant the twin lights appeared upon 
the tower, be dashed off in the darkness and spread the tidings. He reached 
Lexington and warned Hancock and Adams. Then he proceeded toward 
Concord, but was arrested by a British guard, not, however, until he had 
communicated the news to a friend, who carried it forward. 

The British crossed the Charles River and marched all night, and reached 
Lexington just as day was breaking. The minute men were called by the 



1775] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 239 

beating of the drum, and sixty or seventy farmers stood in their ranks to 
meet ten times as many trained soldiers. 

There they stood on the Common, in the cold frosty morning as the 
regulars came up. Captain John Parker had ordered them not to fire on the 
British until they had first fired on them. Major Pitcairn rode up and 
ordered the " villains " and " rebels," with an oath to disperse, and instantly 
commanded his men to fire on them. 

The captain of the Continentals had intended to disperse his men, but 
the fire of the British had killed eleven and wounded nine, one-fourth of the 
whole. The British fire was returned only by a few of the wounded men; not 
an Englishman was harmed. But the war had begun by the cold-blooded 
murder of Americans on their own soil. 

It was no battle and the act of the British officer was nothing less than 
wanton murder. Samuel Adams said when he heard it, " Oh ! what a 
glorious morning this is," knowing that it would rally and unite all the 
people. The regulars cheered over their triumph of sixty or seventy farmers, 
who had not attacked them, and pressed on to Concord. They reached here 
at seven in the morning, but were too late, for the news of their coming had 
preceded them several hours. The military stores had most of them been 
removed and hidden away, and but little remained for them to destroy. In 
the mean time the towns all around had been aroused, and the militia were 
pouring in from every direction. There were not enough to attack the 
troops, nor was there any serious thoughts of doing so, and they were with- 
drawn from the village of Concord to a hill on the other side of the river. 
The British scattered to find the concealed stores, and one party went ovei 
the north bridge and one over the south. As the party went over the north 
bridge, the provincial troops, if troops we could call them, were in plain sight, 
and therefore, a part of the regulars, about one hundred, were left to guard 
the bridge, while the rest, about the same number, went over. The 
Continentals saw the British at the bridge and could see the smoke that arose 
across the bridge. What should they do ? see their houses burned and not 
go to the rescue of their wives and children ? They consulted and agreed to 
march down to the bridge, but not a man was to fire until they had been fired 
upon. The British saw them coming and began to tear up the bridge. The 
Continentals hurried on and the British fired upon them, — at first one or t^vo 
shots by which no harm was done ; then more shots were fired ; two men 
were wounded ; a whole volley and two of the patriots were killed. " r ire ! 
fellow soldiers ; for God's sake, fire ! " cried Captain John Buttrick, leaping 
into the air and turning to his men. This began the American revolution. 
Two British were killed and several injured. Blood had been shed Ly men in 
armed rebellion, and the men who had done it were rebels ai>d traitors. 
There could be no backward steps now, and the contest must wage till one or 
the other side should give in. This was the battle of Concord, and the first 
one of the war. 

The British retreated from the town, as quickly as possible toward 



240 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1755 

Lexington and Boston. It had been a mild winter followed by an early 
spring, and the day was intensely hot. The provision train which was to 
supply them with food had been taken, and all they could get was what they 
might plunder from the citizens. Nor was this the worst, for the minute men 
without any orders from their officers, but each on his own account, lay in 
ambush behind trees and fences and stone-walls, where they were safe, 
and kept up a harassing fire upon the retreating British to the very 
shelter of their ships. As the troops would pass by one place the 
patriots would go forward by by-paths and fire upon them again from 
another position. When one party became worn out, fresh recruits would 
come up from the surrounding country, and thus the war was kept up 
all along the distressing march back to Boston. The march was kept 
up in good order at first, hut broke into an irregular rout at last. 
About two o'clock in the afternoon they were met by twelve hundred 
British troops, sent out from Boston to aid them with two pieces of 
artillery. But their position was perilous even after the arrival of these 
reinforcements. The colonists were increasing in numbers every moment, 
and unless they moved rapidly the whole force would be cut off. The 
firing began again, and more and more of the patriots came up to aid the 
weary Continentals, and they fought like men in thorough earnest, and 
although they were undisciplined and their methods were crude they put the 
very flower of the English army to the worst, and it was not till seven o'clock 
at night that the regulars were safe under the protection of the guns of their 
ships. 

The British lost seventy-three killed, one hundred and seventy-two 
wounded, and twenty-six missing ; while the Americans had forty-nine killed 
thirty-six wounded and six missing. The British suffered heavily in the loss 
of officers. This was the opening contest that the British had forced upon 
their patient and loyal subjects in America, and which was to rage for 
seven years. We will now speak of some of the heroes whose names are 
conspicuous in this period of American history. 




1765] 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



241 




GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 

HE man who was fondly regarded, "the first in war; 
the first in peace, and the first in the hearts of his 
countrymen," can trace the Hne of his ancestry, beyond 
the Norman conquest in England. 

He was born February 22nd, 1732, in Virginia, and 
educated by his mother, who became a widow when her 
eldest son was eleven years of age. She early instilled 
lis mind a love of goodness and truth, which gave a color 
his after life, and to a great extent, moulded the destinies 
lerica. Under her gentle yet firm control, George learned 
rreat lessons of obedience and self-command, and in early 
^ave promise of the excellences which would ripen into a 
1^0 well-rounded manhood. He had his mother's love of command, 
and inherited her calm, judicial character of mind. Even 
among his schoolmates he became an arbitrator of their dis- 
putes and would not allow anything unjust or unfair. His 
person was large and powerful, and he delighted in athletic 
sporls, and out of door pursuits. He had a bodily frame suited to a lofty 
sl>u1, and could endure hardship, toil and fatigue, to almost any extent. His 
education was limited, and he learned no language but his mother tongue. 
He learned mathematics and land surveying, the keeping of accounts, and 
the framing of legal documents. This was the extent of his literary 
acquirements. But George Washington was precise and exact in every thing 
he undertook. His copy books, and measurements of surveying when studying, 
were as neat and scrupulously kept, as if they were of great pecuniary value. 
At the age of eighteen, we find him serving as a government surveyor for 
the State of Virginia. Many of his returns are on file in the county court, 
house, and are so very accurate that their evidence is taken in contested 
disputes to this day, where the measurement, or boundary of land is involved. 
He was Adjutant General of one of the military districts of his native State 
before the Indian war, and as we have seen, was sent to the Ohio valley 
with a body of troops, when he was not yet twenty-two years of age. He 
covered the retreat of the remnant of General Braddock's army, after his 
death, and was a member of the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia in 
1774. He was for the years prior to the Revolution engaged in conducting 
the affairs of his private estate at Mount Vernon, Virginia, where he shipped 
his tobacco, kept his books and conducted his own correspondence. He raised 
a large quantity of wheat, and ground it at his own mill. It became renowned 
for its excellent quality, and such was his reputation for business integrity 
chat no one thought of inspecting the barrel which bore his brand. He had 
the rare combination of a massive intellect, an iron v/ill. and a gentle, loving 



242 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1765 

heart. In him was united a perfect equipoise of all the elements of manhood, 
and in a great degree did he combine the qualities of the Spartan Lycurgus, 
the Roman Cincinnatus, and the Greek Alexander. A true patriot, a born 
leader, and a safe counselor in the army, in congress and at the head of 
government ; he was the chosen instrument of Providence, raised up to meet 
the demand of the times in which he lived, and to earn the proud title which 
succeeding generations have given him, " The Father of his Country." 

History has assigned him a high position among her noble names, and 
delights to point to him as a revolutionary leader, against whom the least act 
of wrong has never been alleged. Such was the man around whose name 
crystallizes the noble deeds of the Revolution in America. The life of this 
man has been so interwoven into the history of the nation, as to form a large 
part of it. 

JOHN HANCOCK. 

This man was President of the Congress which passed the " Declaration 
of Independence," and his bold autograph stands at the head of the names 
which are signed to that immortal bill of rights. It is a bold defiance to the 
home government, and flaunted like the battle-flag of freedom, it stands at 
the head of the list of noted names, in its vigorous strength a type of the 
man whose courage and undaunted power of will moved the pen which 
affixed it there in distinct characters for future generations to read, as he said 
King George could do, " without spectacles." He was born at Braintree, 
Massachusetts, in 1737, and received a collegiate education at Harvard, after 
which he became a clerk to his uncle, and at the death of the latter inherited 
his great wealth. He was the most wealthy and the most popular of all the 
leaders during the Revolutionary struggle in Massachusetts. He began his 
public career quite early in life, and was President of the first Provincial 
Congress which met, independent of royal authority, in Salem, Massachusetts, 
in October, 1774 ; also at the Continental Congress of 1776. 

June loth, 1775, General Gage commanding the British forces in Boston, 
issued his proclamation declaring the colonists rebels and traitors, but offering 
pardon to all who would give up their arms and take the oath of loyalty to 
the king, except John Hancock and Samuel Adams, whom he proposed 
to send to England to be hanged. 

He was a staunch patriot, and did much throughout the struggle to aid 
the army and supply provisions and equipments. He was Major General of 
the Massachusetts militia, and was sadly disappointed that he was not chosen 
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental forces. But for all this, he did not 
desert the Colonies, but gave his services and his money to his country 
without stint, and was unswerving in his loyalty to the American cause. 

John Hancock was Governor of Massachusetts after the war, and died in 
in 1793, honored and respected by all. He was buried in the old Granary 
burying-ground, in Boston, where lies the dust of many of Massachusetts 
noble dead. 



1782] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



243 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

When George Washington was passing his boyhood at Mount Vernon, 
there was a young man at Philadelphia who was modestly toiling to gain a 
livelihood. He was a printer, publisher, stationer, and kept a store for the 
sale of sundry articles. He became a thriving man, and by his simple habits, 
genial disposition, and pure character won the esteem of his fellow citizens. 
More than this, he was a popular writer, and a studious gentleman, whose 
name would afterwards be sounded over the world as a great philosopher. 
He would demonstrate to the savans of Europe that electricity and lightning 
were the same, and give the scientific world a proof that there are 
investigators and original thinkers among the rude people of the west. But 
he was more than this even, he was a patriot and statesman who would be an 
invaluable assistant to the generals in the field. This man was Benjamin 
Franklin, the printer, the economist, the philosopher, the patriot and the 
statesman, He was born in Boston, January 17th, 1706, of humble 
parentage. He was apprenticed to his brother to the trade of a printer, but 
set out at the age of seventeen to seek his fortunes in Philadelphia, without 
money or friends. In 1729 he established a newspaper, and began the 
publication of Poor Richard's Almanac in 1732. He established the free 
library of Philadelphia. He was appointed Deputy Postmaster General of 
the American Colonies in 1753, a year after he had astonished the world with 
his scientific discoveries. In 1764 he was sent to Parliament as a delegate 
from the Colonies to protest against the obnoxious Stamp Act, and after 
being examined before a committee of the House of Commons where he 
acquitted himself with remarkable ability, he returned home. He was chosen 
a member of the second Continental Congress in 1775, and the next year was 
a member of the committee which framed the Declaration of Independence. 
Franklin, very early in the contest, agitated the separation of the Colonies 
from England, and took a prominent part in all the councils of that eventful 
period. In 1776 he was sent as the first ambassador to the fashionable court 
of France, where the good sense and simple manners of the old printer gained 
the favor of the French. He succeeded in effecting a treaty between the two 
governments which was signed at Paris, February 6th, 1778. He lived to a 
ripe old age, assisted in framing the Constitution, and was the instrument of 
forming the treaty of peace with England in 1782. He died in 1790 and was 
buried at Philadelphia. 

ISRAEL PUTNAM. 

The hero of Connecticut, who did much to arouse the zeal of the United 
Colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, deserves more than a passing 
notice. He had taken an active and honorable part in the early Indian and 
French wars, and was Major General of the Connecticut troops at the 
outbreak of the Revolution. In his wars with the Indians he had been taken 
prisoner, and at one time was bound to the stake to be tormented by having 
the savages toss their tomahawks at him with such dexterity as not to cut him 



244 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1775 



with them, but he had been rescued by an unexpected deliverance. He 
had once engaged with a wolf alone in a den, and by his coolness and bravery 
in many exploits had won the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens. He 
was a true patriot, and a stern disciplinarian. After the battles of Concord 
and Lexington had stirred the people of Massachusetts to deeds of valor, the 
tidings came to Putnam, as he was ploughing on his Connecticut farm. He 
unyoked his oxen, sent word to his family that he had started for Boston, 
mounted his horse and rode off to join the patriots in their noble defences. 
He was conspicuous for bravery at the battle of Bunker Hill, and rallied the 
militia who turned to run. Some years after this, he stood up in the church 
of which he was a member to answer to the sin of swearing on this occasion, 
and partially justified himself by saying that " it was almost enough to make 
an angel swear to see the cowards refuse to secure a victory so nearly won." 

Putnam was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in 171 8, and emigrated to 
eastern Connecticut in early life. He was conspicuous in all the exploits with 
the Indians of that period and regarded as a brave and fearless man. In 
1778, he was commissioned as a Major General of the Continental army. He 
was in command of the army at New York Highlands, and superintended the 
erection of the fortifications at West Point on the Hudson. He died in 1790, 
at the age of seventy-two. 

PATRICK HENRY, THE ORATOR. 

■HIS man, who was a perfect Boanerges (son of thunder), 
at the outset of the Revolution, was also a native of 
Virginia, where he was born in Hanover county, in 1736. 
It is said that he was stupid as a scholar, and indolent in 
his habits during his youth, and gave no promise of the 
great power he possessed as a thinker and orator. His 
remarkable eloquence first broke out when he was 
twenty-seven, and his reputation as an orator spread over his 
native state after this. He was the first Governor of Virginia 
elected by the people, and served in that office for two terms. 
He was the first of all the public speakers of America to hurl 
down the gauntlet of defiance to the English. In the year 
1763, he introduced into the house of Burgesses, of Virginia, of 
which he was a member, a series of resolutions highly tinctured 
with treason. They boldly maintained the doctrine that all the 
Colonies, and especially Virginia, alone had the right to impose 
taxes upon the people of that province, and they were not 
bnund to obey any law in reference to taxation which did not proceed from 
iheir own representatives. The last resolution declared that whoever 
dissented from the opinions set forth in the resolutions preceding, was an 
enemy to the Colonies. 

He supported them with all the power of his matchless eloquence. In 
{!: ■ midst of this memorable speech, when the impassioned orator had. 




1782] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 245 

exclaimed, " Csesar had his Brutus ; Charles the First his Cromwell, and 
George the Third — " " Treason ! Treason ! " cried a voice from the gallery — 
"may profit by their example. If that is treason, make the most of it," 
finished Henry. He was a member of the first Continental Congress, as we 
have seen. The members sat silent in the assembly which gathered in 
Carpenter's Hall on that memorable day, the fifth of September, 1774. Not a 
voice broke the silence, and deep anxiety sat on every face. All at once a 
grave looking man in a suit of minister's gray arose, and poured forth a 
torrent of eloquence in a sweet musical voice which stirred the hearts of all. 
"Who is he?" was whispered from lip to lip. The few who knew him 
answered " Patrick Henry, of Virginia." There was no longer any hesitation 
in the Congress, and the deliberations of that body went on to the end. His 
eloquence was of a high character, and impassioned in its style. In the 
Virginia House of Burgesses, on the 23d day of March, 1775, before the battle 
of Concord and Lexington, he again aroused the enthusiasm of his fellow 
delegates in a patriotic speech, which has been published in nearly every 
school reader since that time, and ended with the sentence which became the 
rallying cry of the Revolution, " give me liberty, or give me death." 
Twenty-six days after this, Governor Dunmore seized and conveyed on board 
the British man-of-war a quantity of gunpowder belonging to the Colony of 
Virginia. The enraged citizens compelled him to leave his palace at Williams- 
burg, and flee for his life on board of the same vessel. In October of the 
same year, the deposed governor landed with regular troops to punish the 
Colony and seize the town of Hampton, near Old Point Comfort. Patrick 
Henry at the head of the militia defeated him, and compelled him to pay 
for the gunpowder he had taken away the June before. His regiment carried 
the first known American flag in this engagement, with the words " LIBERTY 
OR Death " and the picture of a coiled serpent under which were the words, 
^^ Dont tread on me!' 

The soldiers were clad in green hunting shirts, with the words " Liberty 
OR Death " printed across the bosom. They wore hats with long bucks' 
tails trailing behind, and a belt with tomahawks and scalping knives stuck in 
them, and made a formidable appearance as they marched through the 
province. We will find the mention of Patrick Henry as we proceed further 
in the history. 

SAMUEL ADAMS. 

This man was the true leader in the city of Boston during the excitement 
of the Stamp Act and the destruction of the tea. He was then a man of 
middle age, well educated and with a stainless reputation. He was a most 
powerful speaker and writer ; — a man who gathered his adherents by his 
eloquence, and held them by his wonderful power of persuasion and 
argument. He was a type of the old Puritan family from which he was 
descended, having been born in Boston, in 1732. His fellow citizens felt the 
power of his resolute will, and gladly followed when he led the way for them. 
The English rightly regarded him as a leader of the rebellion ; for when they 



246 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1782 

sent a proclamation to New England offering general amnesty to all who 
would lay down their arms and return to their allegiance to the crown, 
Samuel Adams and John Hancock were the only men who were exempt from 
the provision of pardon. 

The keen foresight of this man took in the situation at a glance, and saw 
from the first that there could be no halt for the Colonies until a complete 
separation from the old country was effected. His strength of argument and 
powerful eloquence in the General Court and before the people, did much to 
mould the action and direct the thoughts of the patriots of this stormy time. 
There can be no doubt that he was the leader in more than one encounter of 
the people with the soldiers before the battle of Lexington, and he was 
responsible for the destruction of the tea in Boston harbor. He seemed eager 
to incite the Colony to open rebellion, and was delighted with the news of the 
conflict at Concord and Lexington. 

At the assembly of the representatives of Massachusetts, in Salem, which 
sent out the invitation that resulted in the first General Congress, they 
provided for a plan of union between the Colonies, raised munitions of war 
and formed a league of non-intercourse with England. Gerteral Gage sent his 
own secretary to dissolve the Assembly, but the door of the chamber was 
locked and Samuel Adams had the key in his pocket. He was one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and afterward governor of 
Massachusetts. He was a true man, a noble patriot, a born leader of the 
people, and in the hours which tried men's souls he was brave, undaunted 
and heroic. 

The unflinching advocate of liberty, he was the first to pledge "his life, 
his fortune and his sacred honor," to the cause he loved, and his countrymen 
loved to do him honor. He died in 1803. 

There are many other illustrious names of this period. General Warren, 
who fell at Bunker Hill, Henry Knox, the warm friend of Washington, 
General Gates and a host of noble men, heroes all of them; but we must 
hasten on with our history, and let their heroic deeds speak their praise in 
more eloquent terms than words can proclaim. 



\ — k 




■//3 



5J 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



247 




BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, AND SIEGE OF BOSTON. 

E will resume the line of history at the point where 
we left off: the return of the discomfited British 
troops from their ill-fated expedition to Concord and 
Lexington. The initial blow for liberty had been 
struck, and it was appalling to friends and foes alike. 
The people were thoroughly aroused all over the land. 
General Gage had issued his proclamation of which we 
have spoken. 
Minute men were pouring from all parts of the country, and 
the other Colonies heartily espoused the cause of their sister, 
Massachusetts. The ministry of the crown had cut off the Colonies 
from protection, exempting New York, Delaware and North Carolina, 
but these Colonies had spurned the offer and united with the others 
in a common cause. The news spread like wild-fire that patriotic 
blood had been shed, and already American freedom could boast of 
her martyrs. Mounted couriers were galloping in hot haste all over 
the Colonies to carry the tidings of Lexington. " The war has begun ! " was 
shouted in market-place and by the press. And all true men saw that the 
time to lay aside the avocations of peace, and gird themselves for the cont,est, 
had arrived. In her great eagerness. North Carolina threw off the new 
allegiance to the crown and established her Colony into military companies. 
Georgia sent gifts of money and rice with cheering letters to the patriots of 
the North. There was a general rush to arms in Virginia, under the arousing 
influence of the orator, Patrick Henry. From every town and hamlet of 
New England men were rushing to Boston. This city could be easily 
blockaded. Two narrow necks of land joined the peninsula to the main 
land ; one was called Boston neck, and the other Charlestown neck. Three 
thousand British soldiers were quickly hemmed in within the city, and still 
General Gage did not move. The New England yeomanry were pouring into 
the camp of the blockaders, undisciplined and ununiformed. The regulars of 
the English army mocked them as " a rabble with calico frocks and fowling- 
pieces." But they were free Anglo-Saxons with arms in their hands and a 
strong purpose in their hearts. It was unwise to despise such men. 

A number of aggressive movements were undertaken by volunteers 
against forts and garrisons, which were successful from their very boldness and 
unexpectedness. Among the most important of these, was the taking of 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on Lake Champlain by the troops of 
Connecticut and Vermont. On the morning of the loth of May, 1775, 
Colonel Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys appeared in the vicinity 
of Fort Ticonderoga. It seems that there were two independent expeditions 



248 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [17S2 

ignorant of the purpose of each other. The Colony of Massachusetts had 
given Benedict Arnold a commission as Colonel, and ordered him to raise a 
force of four hundred men to reduce the two forts. Connecticut lent 
eighteen hundred dollars to aid the enterprise, and ammunition was purchased 
which, as we shall see, was not expended for that purpose. The Connecticut 
men were first in the field, and went to Vermont and offered the command to 
Ethan Allen. He was a bold, rough man who had made himself conspicuous 
by his resistance to the royal governor of New York, who attempted to take 
possession of Vermont. While the troops were concentrating at the rendezvous 
at Castleton, Arnold came up with his Massachusetts commission. He was 
allowed to join the army, but Allen was put in command. The first thing to 
be done was to obtain information of the condition of the fort. Captain 
Noah Phelps, of Connecticut, dressed as a farmer, went to the fort to get 
shaved, as he claimed he thought he could find a barber there. He obtained 
the information wanted and returned to the camp. 

On the evening of May 9th, the force of Green Mountain Boys were 
ready to embark in the only boat that could be procured ;, but eighty-three 
men could cross at the same time. The two colonels went over in the first 
boat. When across the river, Allen could not wait for more men and under- 
took the capture of the fort at once. A young lad named Nathan Benean, led 
them to the fort. The sentry was captured, and the little force of eighty-three 
men took possession of the fort without firing a shot. The officers were asleep 
in their quarters when a terrified soldier pointed out the door of the com- 
manding officer. Colonel Allen cried out " Come forth instantly or I will 
sacrifice the whole garrison ! " Captain Delaplace, the English officer, had no 
time to dress and came out of his room as he was. " Deliver this fort, 
instantly!" said Allen. "By what authority?" asked the British captain. 
"■ In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," replied 
the patriot. So he was compelled to surrender his fortress before he had 
learned that the war had actually begun. At once the men were paraded 
without arms, and the Americans obtained two hundred cannon, and a large 
stock of ammunition without a blow. Two days afterward. Colonel Seth 
Warren proceeded to capture Crown Point, which surrendered almost as easily 
as Ticonderoga, and then an armed sloop was taken on the lake. This gave 
the patriots complete control of Lake Champlain, and was of immense 
advantage to the Colonists. 

Provincial Congresses had been held in many of the Colonies and before 
the summer was gone every one had thrown off the authority of England. 

The second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia on the very day 
that Allen had taken Ticonderoga, and voted a very conciliatory and open- 
handed addre-ss to King George, but not to be too late, they at the same time 
took measures to organize the Continental army, appoint a commander and 
general officers, and raise money for the war. The Provincial Congress of 
Massachusetts appointed a committee of safety, May 19, 1775, sitting at 
Cambridge, with full powers to regulate the army of the province. Artemas 



1775] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 249 

Ward was appointed Commander-in chief. Israel Putnam, John Stark, and 
other heroes of the French war were appointed to important commands. 

On the 25th of May, six English men-of-war sailed into Boston Harbor 
and it was rumored that reinforcements of troops with generals Howe, 
Burgoyne and Clinton, the best generals in the English army, were in these 
vessels. 

Gage now thought himself able to meet the undisciplined militia besieging 
him around Boston, but the Colonists did not permit him to choose his time 
and place for the first engagement. On the Charleston peninsula there are 
two hills in easy gun-shot of Boston, Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. In a 
council of war it was decided to seize and fortify one of these hills and 
prepare for the onset of the English. The rumor came that Gage intended 
to occupy these hills, and fortify them on the morning of the eighteenth of 
June. Not a moment was to be lost ; on the evening of the sixteenth a band 
of twelve hundred Americans under Colonel Prescott, accompanied by 
General Putnam, were mustered on Cambridge Common for special duty. 

Prayers were said and they marched away in silence, not knowing where 
they were to go. The men only knew that they were marching to battle, and 
some to death. They passed under the very guns of the British ships and 
reached the hillside undiscovered by their enemy. A lovely June night, 
warm and still, was upon them. Across the Charles river now slept the 
unsuspecting foe. Swiftly and carefully they labored to throw up a breast- 
work and build rifle pits on the hill. When the morning came Gage saw a 
long line of intrenchments and armed men behind them, where the day 
before the untrodden grass waved in the summer air. He looked through 
his field glass and saw the tall figure of Colonel Prescott. "Will he fight?" 
asked the English general. " Yes sir," said a bystander, " to the last drop of 
his blood ! " 

A simple plan of attack was agreed upon. The Continentals could never 
sustain the shock of regular troops, so an attacking column was sent straight 
up the hill to make an assault on the works in front. 

Reinforcements were coming to the Americans ; they were supplied with 
a gill of powder and fifteen balls each. To obtain even this small supply 
the balls were run from the organ-pipes of the Episcopal church at 
Cambridge. At noon the English crossed the river, halted for rations, 
and the men from their earth-works could see and hear them. The 
bright uniforms and glistening bayonets of their foes did not deter them 
from their noble purpose. From church steeple and house top, from all 
the surrounding cities, there were eager spectators watching the event of 
battle. The well trained soldiers of England had no easy task. They 
marched up the hill upon that hot summer's day through the tall grass 
with their heavy knapsacks and equipments, weighing one hundred and 
twenty pounds per man. When they were more than a musket shot 
distant they fired a harmless volley at the patriots. " Aim low," shouted 
Putnam to his men, " and wait till }'ou can see the white of their eyes." 



250 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1782 

Nearer and nearer the solid line of red-coats came up to the breastworks. 
At last the word is given to fire, and the American sharp-shooters made every 
shot tell with deadly effect. The English line recoiled. Once more they 
advanced to the very breastwork to receive a murderous fire from the patri- 
ots, and again sustain a bloody repulse. Now they throw off their knap- 
sacks and great-coats, and come up again to the assault. They are resolute 
this time and will end the fight with the bayonet. The Americans have spent 
their little stock of ammunition and can give the red-coats only a single 
volley. They have no bayonets, and for a little time fight hand to hand 
with their clubbed muskets, but are soon driven out of their works and 
flee to Cambridge under the galling fire of the English ships. The English 
had doubtless won the day, but some things had been gained ; it had been 
demonstrated that American freemen could contend with the disciplined 
soldiers in a fair stand-up fight. Henceforth the success of the Revolution 
was a foregone conclusion. George Washington exclaimed when he heard o( 
this battle, " Thank God ! the liberties of the country are safe." 

The loss of the English in this engagement was nearly eleven hundred, 
and of the Americans five hundred, yet as the English obtained the works they 
regarded it as a victory. The Americans who had up to this time taken up 
arms and fought the English troops, had done so without any form of authority, 
and no responsible body or legislature had recognized or employed them. 
They were without a commander, and had no supplies of any kind. Their 
friends at home wove and spun to send them clothing and blankets, and the 
neighboring citizens fed them as best they could. 

The second Continental Congress appointed George Washington of 
Virginia, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on the 15th day 
of June, 1775, and shortly after the battle of Bunker Hill, adopted the 
incongruous assembly of men at Cambridge as " the army." Washington 
hastened to join the army before Boston, and assumed command under a 
grand old elm in Cambridge. Their condition was a sad one. They were 
without any ammunition ; only nine rounds for each man in the ranks. They 
could not use their artillery and their rude and irregular fortifications stretched 
for eight or nine miles. The provincials were not soldiers enough to know 
how weak they really were. Any moment the English might break their 
feeble lines and hurl them back in utter confusion. 

Washington saw the peril, but he was powerless. There was an army of 
ten thousand well-trained soldiers in Boston. A noble body of men, but 
fortunately for the Americans led by incompetent generals. Gage quietly 
endured the siege without making a move. Small-pox broke out in his army 
and did fearful havoc. They were poorly supplied by the fleet, and had to 
destroy the very houses for fuel. 

Gage was recalled by an angry ministry, and quitted Boston in disgrace. 
General Howe was to succeed him. Washington was at times almost in 
despair. His men had enlisted for three months, and they found that a 
soldier's life was a hard one, that even their patriotism could not endure. The 



1775] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 251 

general was a strict disciplinarian and would be obeyed. When January, 1776, 
arrived, he found himself with a new army much reduced in size, and he had 
to begin the weary process of drill and organization over again. He knew 
that Howe was informed of his condition, and he was constantly looking 
out for an attack. In February, Congress sent him a liberal supply of arms 
and ammunition. Ten regiments of militia were added to his little army and 
he began to feel that he could make a move. 

The heights of Dorchester lay to the south of Boston, and if he could 
secure and hold this position he would be able to drive the British out of the 
city. He settled upon the night of the 4th of March for the undertaking. 
He kept the attention of the enemy by a constant discharge of artillery, while 
he sent a strong party of men to Dorchester to throw up a line of works. 
Huge wagons loaded with bales of pressed hay were driven there to form 
breast works for the men, who could not dig rapidly in the frozen ground. 
The men worked with such energy that when morning came they had fashioned 
the bales of hay into redoubts and fortifications of quite a formidable 
appearance. In the morning General Howe peering with his glass through 
the fog, saw the works and said, " The rebels have done more work in one 
night than my whole army would have done in a month." Howe prepared an 
expedition to cross to Dorchester and fight the patriots, but for two days a 
fearful easterly storm raged that scattered his transports, and on the third 
day he saw that the Americans had made the heights ; then he knew that it was 
impossible to capture them. He laid aside his plans of battle and made 
preparations to evacuate the city. Washington might have taken them as 
prisoners of war, but he could not care for them, nor could the Colonies keep 
them until exchanged : so he gave a written promise that he would not hinder 
them in departing from the city. On the 17th of March not a British soldier was 
left in the city of Boston, and five thousand of the joyous Continentals entered 
in triumph. Seven thousand soldiers, four thousand seamen, and fifteen 
hundred families of those who had been loyal to the king, sailed for Halifax. 

General Israel Putnam, with a second detachment of troops, entered the 
city and took possession in the name of tJic TJiirtcen Colonics. 

Washington had learned that Sir Henry Clinton had sailed from Boston 
with his troops upon a secret expedition early in January^ ^77^i and 
he naturally supposed that the British general had gone to New York. He 
at once ordered one of his generals, Charles Lee, to go to Connecticut, 
raise troops for the defense of that city, and watch Clinton wherever he 
might attempt to land. Six weeks before the evacuation of Boston, Lee 
had twelve hundred troops in the vicinity of New York, and was on the watch 
for the British. 

But in the mean time the citizens of New York had committed overt acts 
of treason on their own account. They had seized the cannon at Fort 
George, and had driven the royal governor on board of an English ship. In 
March, Clinton arrived with his fleet just outside of Sandy Hook, and the 
same day, Lee, not knowing where the English were, marched into the 



^52 



TME WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1782 



city and took possession. Clinton, foiled in this attempt to obtain New 
York, sailed to the southward. Washington had not heard from Lee or 
Clinton, and as soon as he could leave Boston he pressed on to aid Lee and 
find Clinton, also thinking that Howe would sail to New York. He arrived 
about the middle of April, and began fortifying the city and the Hudson 
Highlands fifty miles above. General Charles Lee had been ordered south to 
assume command, and Lord Stirling, an American citizen of New York, who 
espoused the patriot cause, but was of Scotch descent, was left in command. 
Lee was hastening toward the Carolinas, arousing the Whigs, and on the 
lookout for the English General Clinton. 

Clinton had been joined at Cape Fear by an expedition sent out from 
England by Admiral Sir Peter Parker, and the combined fleet appeared off 
Charleston, South Carolina, on the 4th of June, 1776. The patriots in the 
South were aroused and had defeated an army of loyalists under Colonel 
Caswell of over fifteen hundred, early in the spring of that year. When 
Governor Rutledge called for volunteers they rallied all over the State, and 
six thousand well armed men appeared in Charleston to repel the invaders. 
A fort of palmetto logs and sand was erected on Sullivan's Island, and 
twenty-six cannon were mounted, and a garrison of five hundred men 
stationed there under Colonel William Moultrie. The British made a 
combined attack by land and water upon this island, but were repelled after a 
persistent battle of ten hours. Colonel Thompson, with a small force in a 
battery, held the advancing land forces of Clinton at bay, while the fort 
poured its shot and shell into the fleet. At night the crippled and 
discomfited fleet sailed away, and for two years the sound of British guns was 
not heard below the Potomac. The English fleet sailed for New York, June 
31st, 1776, and the victory of the patriots of South Carolina had an inspiring 
tffect upon all the colonists throughout the country. 




I775J 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



253 




THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 



FTER these months of fighting there were those who 
could not come to think of separation from the home 
government but with pain. Those who were native 
Englishmen could not but love the land of their birth, 
and many were slow to abandon the proud title of 
British citizens. The Quakers and Moravians were 
opposed to war as sinful, and great numbers thought it 
was useless for a few weak colonies to measure strength against 
the power of England. There was long and anxious discussion. 
The land was flooded with pamphlets and papers setting forth the 
oppression of the home government and the grievances of the 
Colonies. The wisest and best minds of the age were agitating 
the question of a final rupture, because they sav/ that this was the 
only course. The vast weight of intelligence, learning and 
argument, as well as patriotism, was in favor of this. Among 
these, a man who wielded a powerful pen, and aided the cause with the full 
weight of his influence and talent, was one who has never received the 
full amount of honor due him. He held a conspicuous place among the men 
of his time, and his judgment was considered of importance in the settlement 
of serious questions. We refer to Thomas Paine, the infidel thinker and 
writer. He had been but a few months in the Colonies, but his vigorous 
mind was enlisted on the side of human freedom. He wrote a pamphlet 
entitled Common Sense, in which he took the strong ground that the 
Colonies ought to be free. The Continental Congress was in session, and the 
time was ripe for a decision of this question. On June 7th, 1776, a 
resolution was introduced, " That the United Colonies are and ought to be 
free." Some opposed, some favored. Pennsylvania and Delaware had 
instructed their delegates to oppose it, for the Quakers were loyal to the last. 
Seven states for, and six against this resolution. It was then voted that the 
matter be deferred two or three weeks. 

On the 4th of July, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the 
thirteen States, by the unanimous consent of all the delegates. It was a most 
remarkable document, setting forth the wrongs done to the Colonies, and 
portraying the character of George the King, in the roughest handling he 
ever received, and ending with these wonderful words, " and finally we do 
assert and declare these Colonies to be free and independent States, and that 
as free and independent States they have power to levy war, conclude peace, 
contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which 
independent States may of right do, and for the support of this declaration 
v/e mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred 



254 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1782 



honor." To this immortal bill of rights were appended the names of the 
fifty-six delegates from all the Colonies. 

^ This document is preserved in the hand writing of Thomas Jefferson, the 
youngest member of the committee, and was published to the world, July 
4th, with only the name of John Hancock appended, but the other names 
were signed on the 2nd of August, all but two, who afifixed their names 
afterward. 

This act of the Congress inspired the patriots with enthusiasm. It was 
read by order of General Washington at the head of each regiment, and by 
the ministers in their pulpits and everywhere in posters and papers from 
Maine to Georgia. The quarrel must n^w be fought out to the end, and 
result in a glorious victory for freedom, or in a shameful defeat. Everywhere 
it was received with shouts of joy, and the soldiers in New York pulled down 
a leaden statue of King George and sent it to Litchfield, Connecticut, where 
the governor's wife and family melted it and run it into bullets to kill the 
king's soldiers. General Washington issued orders to his troops, in his 
customary dignified style, in which he said, " The General hopes and trusts 
that every officer and soldier will endeavor so to live and act as becomes a 
Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country." 



THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 

UST after the publication of the Declaration, General Howe, 
with Clinton and a large force of troops, made up mainly 
of Hessians hired to fight from some petty German Prince, 
appeared off New York. These Hessians were hired at so 
much per head to fight in any war ; and their employment 
f. was a scandal to Europe. Frederick the Great did not 
hesitate to express his unmitigated contempt for both 
parties to the bargain and sale. 

The British army was now twenty-five thousand men, and 
Lord Howe had brought with him a commission to pacify the 
Colonies. They were now no longer Colonies but free and 
independent States. So when General Howe invited them to 
lay down their arms, and promised them a free pardon, they 
replied that they were not seeking forgiveness but liberty. 

The sword must be the arbiter now. The British landed 
upon Staten Island, a few miles from New York. With his 
fleet he could hold undisputed possession of the bay, and at his leisure choose 
his point of assault. General Putnam was sent with a body of troops to take 
and hold the heights of Brooklyn which commanded the city of New York. 
Staten Island could be seen from the heights and after a while the English 
were observed moving. They struck their. tents, marched on ship board and 
crossed the bay. Putnam marched out of the works to meet the enemy, for 




1775] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 255 

Washington did not hope for a victory, only to do all he could to cripple 
them. The English landed ten thousand men, in three divisions. The left 
division under General Grant, moved along the shore towards Gowanus. The 
right, under Clinton and Cornwallis, toward the interior, and the center, 
composed of Hessians, under De Heister. The right attacked the Americans, 
and others came to help what seemed the main attack, while the remaining 
column of British cut off their retreat, and the center closed in upon them. 
Here they were surrounded, and Howe might have taken them, but he waited 
to make a regular siege. Washington silently withdrew his forces and 
returned to New York. So skillfully was this done that the last boat load 
had left the shore before their retreat was discovered by the English. 
Washington had to leave New York to its fate, and marched northward 
nine miles ; but the English fleet followed him up the Hudson, and he was 
forced to retire to New Jersey. The English again followed him and on 
the way stormed a fort and took three thousand prisoners. 

Lord Stirling had been defeated and taken prisoner. General Sullivan 
had been defeated, and General Washington was fleeing from the victorious 
enemy. It was indeed a dark time for the American cause. Scarcely four 
thousand men were left and they were half clad and dispirited at the 
defeats they had suffered. Thousands of their comrades had been killed, or 
worse than death, were crowded into prison ships to die of neglect and 
starvation. This army of men, without blankets or shoes, poorly armed and 
ill-fed, were a strange band to conquer a continent. Washington was in full 
retreat to Philadelphia, and the British had possession of New York and 
Long Island. Again the English general issued his offers of pardon, and 
many of the rich colonists accepted them to preserve their property. The 
loyalists, who had been silenced by the popular uprising, now became 
clamorous and defiant. The terms of enlistment of the militia were expiring, 
and they were leaving the ranks, and the Continentals were deserting every 
day. Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton and Princeton were occupied by the 
British, and Washington reached the banks of the Delaware river with 
scarcely three thousand men. The citizens laughed at them as they marched 
along the streets, and looked with dread upon the well-fed and clothed 
soldiers who came after them. So near was the vanguard of the advancing 
British, that their drums could be distinctly heard by the rear guard of the 
Continental army. And often the men engaged in destroying bridges behind 
the Americans would see the head of the column of the enemy before they 
had completed their work of destruction. Washington knew the desperate 
odds against him. He had not hoped to overcome the British in the Eastern 
States, but he resolved to do what he could with such an army as his country 
had given him. When he crossed the Delaware he confiscated and took all 
the boats he could find for seventy miles along the river. Lord Howe waited 
on the eastern bank until the river should freeze and he be able to pass over. 
Washington strove to devise a plan by which he should win back success to 
his cause. 



2^6 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1782 



The defeats which had followed each other so rapidly for four months 
had caused the people to become uneasy and dispirited. The short terms 
of enlistment had been embarrassing to the army, and the increasing activity 
of the tories, as the loyalist colonists were called, all had a disastrous effect. 

The winter of the second year of the war had come, and the British 
general was inactive ; his officers and men were enjoying themselves in New 
York, and small detachments were scattered throughout New Jersey. Ten 
miles from Philadelphia was the city of Trenton, held by a considerable force 
of British and Hessians. Washington crossed the Delaware, Christmas, 1776, 
in the intense cold, and made a hurried march to Trenton to surprise the 
careless army there. He succeeded. The general in command was slain, 
and the troops surrendered at discretion. A week after this encounter, three 
regiments of English troops came to Princeton, on their way to retrieve the 
defeat of their companions. While they were resting for the night, 
Washington surprised them and after a sharp fight defeated them with heavy 
loss. These successes, slight as they seem, revived the drooping spirits of 
the patriots and restored the wavering confidence in Washington, which after 
this was unbounded. Congress gave him unlimited military authority for six 
months. They also decided that all enlistments thereafter should be for the 
war. Thus in the time of its deepest peril the infant Republic was rescued 
from its danger by the inconsiderable victories of Trenton and Princeton. 

Thus opened the third year of the struggle with victory and enthusiasm 
for theii Commander-in-Chief, but soon the hearts of the colonists were to be 
cheered hf the arrival of a new ally to freedom, and a source of strength that 
would be of great aid to them in their contest for liberty and independence 



f;aL':er 



THE FRENCH AID TO THE COLONIES. 



\ NEW force was now to enter into this, which had been 
up to this time an unequal contest. France had 
long cherished a bitterness toward England for the 
loss of her possessions in Canada, caused by the 
defeat at Quebec. She had fondly hoped that 
America would avenge her for this loss by throwing off 
.jx* the British yoke. She had more than once despatched 
^* to the Colonies a secret agent to encourage their good will, and 
since the troubles with the mother country had begun, her secret 
emissaries had been at work among them to offer sympathy and 
^ give pledges of commercial advantage. It was safe for her to 
foster the growing dislike of England in America, and to stir u]> 
the Americans to fit out privateers to prey upon British commerce 
But there was one young man at this time serving in the French 
arr^y, v/hosc professions of friendship for America were not all 
;/ and inspired by hatred of the Brilish. This man was a young French 




1775] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 257 

nobleman of immense fortune and strong love of liberty. He was less than 
twenty, and had first heard of the American struggle from the Duke of 
Gloucester, while he was dining with some French officers. That 
conversation made a radical change in the young man's plans for the future. 
Napoleon said that, " He was a man of no ability," while Marie Antoinette 
said " There is nothing in his head but the United States." He had the 
keenest sympathy with the cause of liberty in which he believed the 
American States to be engaged, and no sooner had he become satisfied of 
this than he was ready to ally himself with the patriot army. He had just 
been married to a beautiful lady whom he left in France, and came to America 
in a ship fitted out at his own expense. He offered his services to the 
Continental Congress in the third year of the war, when the cause seemed to 
be at its lowest ebb. His presence awakened the courage of the whole 
nation, for it was a visible proof that there was help and sympathy for them 
beyond the ocean. America has given this impulsive, generous young man a 
high place in her affection. The Continental Congress gave the zealous 
French youth a commission as Major General, July 31st, 1777, and three days 
afterward he was presented to General Washington at a public dinner. Here 
on August 3rd, two men met for the first time whose names were forever after 
blended in grateful remembrance by a patriotic people, who regard them as 
deserving the highest love of the nation. George Washington the plain 
untutored Virginian planter, and the Marquis de Lafayette, the wealthy 
French nobleman, who had espoused the cause of the feeble Colonies with all 
his heart. Together these men were to play a grand and noble part in the 
Drama of Nations, and like brothers were to stand side by side through the 
darkest days of gloom until victory should crown their united efforts and a 
free people should sound their praises from the lakes to the gulf, and from 
the sea to the great river. The Americans have delighted to do honor to 
the first and most faithful ally to their cause. 




358 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1782 




THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777 AND 1778. 



E have left Washington after his victory at Princeton, 
in January, 1777, and the returning enthusiasm of the 
patriots. He was too weak to attempt the capture of 
the large amount of British stores at New Brunswick, 
and therefore he hurriedly retreated to Morristown, 
where he established winter-quarters. He kept up his 
plan of harassing the enemy until at the opening of 
spring not a British or Hessian soldier was left in New Jersey except 
at New Brunswick and Amboy. No general movement was made 
by either army until the first of June, and Washington remained in 
his winter-quarters till the last of May. His army was improving 
in health and numbers, in discipline, spirits and material. A few 
slight movements had been made in the spring. The British had 
made an expedition up the Hudson and destroyed some stores, 
returning the same night. They had also marched from the Sound 
to Danbury, Connecticut, destroyed the town, fought the militia under 
Generals Woogter, Sullivan and Arnold. The first had been killed, the 
second barely escaped, but Sullivan had discomfited and harassed them all 
the way to the coast and inflicted severe injuries upon them while getting on 
board of their ships at Compo, now Westport, Connecticut. 

May 22nd, Colonel Meigs had crossed the Sound from Guilford 
Connecticut, attacked the English garrison at Sag Harbor, Long Island, 
burned a dozen vessels, destroyed stores, and returned the next day with 
ninety prisoners. A similar exploit was performed in Rhode Island. A 
party in whale boats rowed across Narraganset bay amid the hostile ships 
and captured the British General Prescott in his bed, July loth, and he was 
sent under a strong guard to Washington. Colonel Burton led this 
expedition, and afterward received a fine sword, as a testimonial of his 
bravery, from Congress. 

Thus the campaign was opening. Congress sent word to Washington to 
lose no time in totally subduing the enemy;' but he could safely wait and 
abide his time, smiling at the vain confidence which had so quickly taken the 
place of distrust and almost of despair. His army was being recruited every 
day, and the old soldiers whose time had expired were induced to remain by 
patriotic appeals and the promise of bounty. By the middle of June there 
were eight thousand men in the Continental army, tolerably well armed and 
clothed, and under a fair state of discipline. 

The Hessians had committed many depredations in New Jersey, and a 
strong thirsi to avenge private wrongs induced many of the citizens of that 
State to enter the service. Howe desired to capture the capital of the States, 
IMiiladclphia, and advanced his army to do so, but Washington was so 



1775] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 259 

strongly intrenched across his road that he dared not attack. He then 
returned and prepared an expedition to sail to the Chesapeake, leaving New 
Jersey in complete possession of the Americans. 

On the 1 2th of July, General Burgoyne, with a force of seven thousand 
men, had taken Crown Point and Ticonderoga from the Americans, and 
spread terror and devastation through New York and Vermont. General 
Clinton was left in command at the city of New York. The force of 
English under General Howe landed at Elkton, Maryland, on August 
25th, and marched toward Philadelphia, and at Brandywine Creek a 
severe battle was fought with the Americans, September nth, in which 
Lafayette was wounded, just forty days after his introduction to Washington. 
The patriots were defeated with a loss of twelve hundred men. The generals 
of that time laid the blame of this defeat upon Lord Stirling, a warrior brave 
but foolish, " aged and a little deaf," who commanded the right wing. 
Washington had lost the battle, but not by any want of skill or bravery. 

A fortnight afterward the British army entered the city of Philadelphia, 
where so many Tories were waiting to receive them that Benjamin Franklin 
said, " Lord Howe has not taken Philadelphia, but Philadelphia has taken 
Lord Howe." The Federal Congress had fled at his approach, and when in 
the bright September morning the British troops marched into Philadelphia, 
there were many citizens eager to receive them with open arms. The British 
were in possession of the long desired prize, the Federal Capital, but they 
could obtain no supplies by sea, on account of two forts on opposite sides of 
the Delaware, a few miles below the city, and on the morning of October 
22nd, they were attacked by a large force of English under Howe. Fort 
Mercer was bravely held by General Christopher Greene of Rhode Island, 
and Fort Miffin by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith, who both made a 
gallant defense and drove the British away. The forts were afterward 
abandoned and the English had possession of the river to the sea. While the 
British were weakened by the large detachment which had gone down the 
Delaware, Washington decided to attack the main force of the enemy, and a 
complete surprise wag given them, which at first was successful. But in the 
darkness of night confusion arose among the regiments of the Continental 
army, and some of them mistook each other for enemies, confusion increased 
to a wild panic and they fled in disaster. We must leave Washington 
preparing to go into winter-quarters, and turn northward to see about the army 
of Burgoyne which we left in possession of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 
This English general now set out on an expedition from Canada to subdue 
the northern part of New York. General Schuyler was in command but he 
had only a small force of militia. These men were of different temper and 
spirit from the citizens of Philadelphia and vicinity, and when they heard of 
the invasion, assembled from all over the country. Each man took down his 
musket from where he had hung it, and hurried away to join the army. They 
were undisciplined but resolute of purpose. The invader made slow progress 
until he found himself at Saratoga. A band was sent to Bennington, Ver- 



26o * THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1782 

mont, to seize cattle and provisions which were gathered there. Colonel 
John Stark had been commissioned to raise troops in New Hampshire, and 
with his men defeated one party of English, while Colonel Seth Warner met 
and overcame another, August i6th. These victories were like a star of hope 
in the prevailing gloom of the darkness. Burgoyne was in difficulty ; he had 
been impeded by the efforts of Schuyler in his march, was in an enemy's 
country without supplies, and found but little help from the tories. It was 
now October and the heavy fall rains made the roads impassable. Provisions 
were getting low and hard to procure. The Indians had been aroused in the 
Mohawk Valley and joined the British. They invested Fort Stanwix with a 
band of tories under Johnson and Butler, and had led Colonel Gransevoort 
with his militia into an ambush, and defeated them, mortally wounding the 
colonel. But the besieged party under their commander, Colonel Millet, 
made a successful sortie and broke the siege. Arnold came up with a body 
of troops to relieve the garrison, and the Indians and their unhappy tory 
friends fled in confusion. 

The British general had little hope of fulfilling his promise to eat his 
Christmas dinner in Albany. He could not remain where he was ; to retreat 
or to advance would be equally disastrous. He crossed .the Hudson and 
fortified a camp on the hills and plains of Saratoga. The American army was 
four miles distant at Stillwater. An indecisive battle was fought on the 19th 
of September, both sides claiming the victory. The English fell back to their 
camp. Here Burgoyne resolved to wait for reinforcements from General 
Clinton, but after a few days not hearing from Clinton, he made another 
attack upon the Americans and was completely defeated October 7th, 1777. 
His army was becoming enfeebled by frequent desertions of the tories and 
Indians, while that of the patriots was being strengthened by the militia 
which flocked to them, and the Indian warriors of the Six Nations who joined 
them. Ten days after his defeat, when he had only three days' rations in 
camp, he surrendered his whole force to General Gates. They were 
surrounded and had no chance to escape ; so closely had the net been drawn, 
that when the last council of war was held by the British officers they were 
within reach of the American muskets. Six thousand men laid down their 
arms to mere peasants. "Well drilled, armed and clothed, the English 
surrendered to patriots who were ununiformed and fought with powder-horns 
slung across their shoulders, and with muskets that had no bayonets, no two 
of whom were dressed alike. Such humiliation had never befallen the British 
army before. But this uncouth American army behaved with noble spirit 
toward the conquered. General Gates kept his men within their lines that 
they might not see the vanquished lay down their arms. Not a word or look 
of disrespect was given the enemy. " All were mute in astonishment and 
pity." Ticonderoga and Crown Point were given up to the Americans ; they 
had gained a large amount of arms, cannon, and munitions of war. 

England took this defeat very much to heart, and now too late they 
resolved to redress the wrongs of the Colonies. The patriots were 



1775] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 261 

encouraged, the tories put down, and France was urged to espouse the cause 
of America, all as the effect of this defeat. Parliament abandoned all claim 
to tax the Colonies, every obnoxious law would be repealed, and all would be 
forgiven if America would return to her allegiance. Commissioners were 
hurried away to bear the olive branch of peace to Congress. But the time 
for peace with England, as Colonies, had passed forever. In a few well chosen 
words Congress declined the offer, and the war went on. America had 
chosen to be free, and proud England, whose armies had been victorious all 
over the world could not tamely abandon her claim and retire defeated before 
the feeble Colonies. The war so far had cost the English twenty thousand 
lives and increased the national debt to an alarming extent. Her ablest 
generals had been defeated by half-clad and half-armed countrymen. Trade 
was languishing, and there was dissatisfaction among the laboring classes. 
Commerce was crippled by American privateers, who attacked English 
merchantmen, and for all this loss what had been gained ? Actually nothing 
but the vain satisfaction of having inflicted untold misery upon an industrious 
and frugal people, carrying sorrow and suffering to thousands of happy 
homes in America. They had caused men to leave their peaceful associations, 
and leave their fields unsown ; their shops silent. The trading classes had 
been impoverished, the fisheries and commerce well nigh annihilated, and 
solid money had disappeared from the country. That was all that England 
had gained ; for the Americans were still determined to gain their 
independence. 

February 4th, 1778, the treaty of alliance between the United States and 
France was signed, and now the Americans were not left to fight the 
powerful British nation single handed. Spain also joined with France and 
from this union the cause of American independence was secured. 

Washington had gone into winter-quarters with his troops at Valley 
Forge, where his poorly-clad and ill-fed army shivered in their log cabins, 
while the army of Howe were passing their time in luxury and ease within 
the comfortable homes of Philadelphia. If there is a spot on the broad 
Western Continent where a monument ought to be erected to perpetuate the 
memories of the Revolutionary struggle, it is at Valley Forge. Here 
Washington held his army together without clothing or camp equipage, 
and but little provision, through the long, dark night of that terrible 
winter of 1777-78. The general shared with his men the privations and 
suffering of the winter, and neither lost hope in the justness of their cause, 
or the final issue. And when the fearful ordeal had passed, and the troops 
received the news of the treaty with France in the early spring, shouts and 
cheers shook the air and were heard for miles around. 

This alliance with France gave the Americans great hope and added to 
their zeal. Nor was this all, for the French government began active 
measures at once. A fleet of twelve ships of the line was despatched at once 
to American waters to co-operate with General Washington, under the 
command of Count D'Estaing. The British Ministry ordered General Howe 



262 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1775 



to leave Philadelphia and concentrate his force in New York. Nor did he 
leave that point any too soon, for the French fleet appeared in the Delaware 
July 8th. But then the British were far on their way to Amboy, beyond the 
reach of the French ships which were too large to cross the bar which 
stretches northward from Sandy Hook toward the narrows. But 
Washington had been watching the movement, and on the morning of 
Sunday, June 28th, had begun a general engagement with the whole Britsh 
force at Monmouth, and won the battle after a severe fight which lasted all 
day. All night he rested on his arms, to renew the attack in the morning, 
but when day came the enemy were not to be seen, having begun their 
retreat at one o'clock in the morning. Washington did not follow, but 
returned to New Brunswick. 

When the French fleet arrived, Washington urged D'Estaing to proceed 
to Rhode Island to drive the British out of that province. General Sullivan 
was sent to take command of the troops there. John Hancock came with 
the Massachusetts militia. Several English ships reinforced the fleet at New 
York and appeared off Rhode Island the day the Americans landed. The 
French fleet came out to engage the English, but a storm disabled both fleets 
and the Frenchmen sailed for Boston to repair, leaving the land force to meet 
the British unaided. The Americans retreated to the north end of the Island, 
where General Sullivan defeated the British at Quaker Hill, August 29th, and 
then to avoid being cut off by Howe retired to the main land the next day. 



body 
arise 



THE WYOMING MASSACRE. 



E come to a chapter in the American conflict which 
has no parallel in the scenes of carnage and cruelty 
that stain the pages of history. A tragedy that 
found no apologists in the nation in whose interests 
it was enacted. There were in all the provinces 
numbers of persons who still sympathized with the 
English, some were born in England and loved the 
land of their birth better than the young Republic of the West, some 
were shocked by the fratricidal war and dreaded its consequences ; 
some were conscientious loyalists who thought the patriots were 
guilty of treason ; some were renegades who had private grievances 
to settle, and some were bribed by offers of British possessions and 
gold. All of them, from the peaceful Quaker and Moravian who 
would rather suffer than fight, to the lawless assassin who would kill 
for pay, were termed tories. We have spoken of two, Johnson and 
Butler. The latter, Colonel John Butler, was in command of a 
of tories from Niagara, and he came southward inciting the Indians to 
against the settlers. They gathered at Tioga early in June. 1-78, and 




1782J THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 263 

by the ist of July mustered eleven hundred whites and Indians, the latter 
from the head waters of the Susquehanna. They entered the beautiful 
Wyoming Valley the 2nd of July. This was a part of the State of 
Pennsylvania. The strong men were mostly in the distant army on duty ; 
the aged men with the women and children and a very few trained soldiers 
were all that were left in this defenceless valley. Colonel Zebulon Butler, a 
native of Connecticut, who had been in the early Indian and French wars, 
with a small force of four hundred men marched up the valley to drive the 
tory Butler and his Indians back. They were met by the savage foe and 
after a fearful conflict were most of them killed or taken prisoners July 4th, 
1778. A few of them made their escape to Forty Fort where the families of 
the settlers were gathered for shelter and defence. The invaders swept like a 
storm cloud down the valley and surrounded the fort, where contrary to 
expectation they offered humane terms of surrender. They returned to their 
homes in fancied security, but the Indians could not be held in restraint, and 
plundered and burned, slaughtered and butchered on every hand. They 
scattered in every direction at sunset and when the darkness of night settled 
upon the scene twenty burning houses sent up their lurid flames to the sky. 
The cry of women and children went up from every field and house, and 
many who fled to the Wilkesbarre mountains and the black morasses of the 
Pocono, perished from exposure and starvation. That dark region between 
the valley and the Delaware is very appropriately termed the Shades of 
Death. Thus was enacted the most shameful crime committed among the 
many that disgraced the action of the English during the war. Joseph Brant, 
a Mohawk Indian, who had adhered to the English, had gone with war parties 
south of the Mohawk River, and joined, with their allies, Johnson, the tory 
leader, and together they attacked the settlement of Cherry Valley, killed 
many of the people, and carried the rest into captivity. Such was the alarm 
in all that region that for months no eye was closed in security. The 
country for a hundred miles around was called the dark and bloody ground. 
The record of that one county in New York, — Tryon County, it is now 
called, — for four years, would fill a large volume. To such severe straights 
had the British government come in their contest with a united people 
fighting for their freedom. The Americans had a great account to settle 
with the tories who had already been the cause of much bloodshed and 
misery and were always a source of strength and information to the British. 




264 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1775 




THE WAR IN 1779-1780. 



HE Continental army had gained much in the former 
campaign although the spring of 1779 opened with the 
forces in the same relative position as the spring before. 
But the American army was in better condition and 
material than ever previous. France was in active 
sympathy with the States, and they were learning how 
to conduct naval operations and the art of civil government. 
The power of the British in the States north of the Potomac 
was becoming weak and the field of conflict was to be 
changed to the sparsely settled South. The French fleet had 
sailed to the West Indies to attack the English possessions 
there, and this drew away a part of the English force with 
some of their ships. Altogether the conditions of the conflict 
were bright for the side of America. The chief embar- 
rassment was the fact of a large issue of scrip of the 
'^'~ government in the place of money, and its large depreciation 
in value. This Continental currency had neither the binding force of a 
promise to pay in gold or silver, nor the pledge of public credit. In the 
spring of 1779, Washington, in conference with a committee of Congress, 
matured a plan of campaign for the year. He was to act on the defensive so 
far as the English were concerned, and on the offensive in dealing with the 
Indians and tories. The British troops were to be confined to the sea 
coast and the Indians and their unholy allies were to be severely punished 
wherever a blow could be struck. The English had already sailed to the 
South and subjugated the whole State of Georgia, making their head-quarters 
in the capital, which they held until nearly the close of the war, even after 
the rest of the State had been recovered. The patriots of Georgia and South 
Carolina contended with the invaders bravely and punished them at many 
points, but were overcome by superior numbers. They were kept out of 
Charleston and obliged to retire to Georgia, where General Prevost came up 
from Florida to join the English and assume command of the forces. 

In the North the British were sending out marauding parties to harass 
the citizens along the sea coast. Such an expedition under General Tryon 
came to Greenwich, Connecticut, to attack General Putnam. The Americans 
were dispersed but rallied at Stamford and drove the invaders back, 
recaptured a part of their plunder, and harassed them all the way back to 
New York. An expedition under command of Sir George Collier sailed up 
Hampton Roads into the Elizabeth River, and laid the country waste on both 
sides from the Roads to Norfolk and Portsmouth. The last part of the same 
month two forts on the Hudson were captured by the same fleet. Stony Point 
and Verplanck's Point. These exploits ended, General Tryon went to New 



1782] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 265 

Haven, Connecticut, and burned that city, also East Haven, Fairfield and 
Norwalk, and boasted of his extreme clemency in leaving a single house 
standing on the coast. The Americans were not idle all this time, but were 
making ready to strike heavy and unexpected blows at different points. 
Three days after the burning of Norwalk the Fort at Stony Point was 
captured by Colonel Anthony Wayne, who secretly attacked it on the night 
of July 15th, 1779, with ball and bayonet, and captured it after a strong 
resistance. This was one of the most brilliant exploits of the war. Another 
brilliant achievement followed this, the capture of a British force at Jersey 
City by General Henry Lee, August 19th, but the joy which these events 
occasioned was changed to sorrow by disaster in the extreme East. 
Massachusetts fitted out an expedition of forty vessels to sail to the 
Penobscot and take a fort held by the British at Castine. The commander 
delayed to storm the place for two weeks after his arrival, and an English fleet 
appeared, destroyed the vessels and captured the sailors and soldiers, all but 
a few who made their way back to Boston through the trackless wilderness. 

The settlers of the territories beyond the Alleghanies, who had been 
accustomed to fight the Indians from their first coming into the wilderness, 
were fearless and bold, and now they turned their attention to the British 
outposts to fight the whites. Colonel George Rogers Clarke (who finally 
broke the power of the Indians incited by the tories and English) led an 
expedition into the far wilderness of the northwest territory, where Illinois 
and Indiana now are, and took the fort at Kaskaskia, and the strong post at 
Vincennes. This had happened in 1778. But the British from Detroit 
retook the post in January, 1779. Acting as a peace-maker, Clarke again 
penetrated a hundred miles beyond the Ohio river, to quiet the Indians in 
the Northwest. He came through the drowned lands of Illinois in the month 
of February, and came upon the fort at Vincennes like men who had dropped 
from the clouds. On the 20th of February, the stars and stripes floated once 
more over the fort. 

The indignation of the people was thoroughly aroused by the massacre oi 
the Wyoming, and General Sullivan was sent to the very heart of the region 
held by the Six Nations to chastise and humble them. On the last day of 
July he marched up the Susquehanna and joined the forces of General James 
Clinton, a patriot soldier, in August, making an army of nearly five thousand 
men. On the 29th of August they fell upon a fortified band of Indians and 
tories and dispersed them. Without waiting for them to rally, he went on 
dealing severe blows and chastising the savages on every hand. The Indians 
were awed and spirit-broken for a while. The campaign in the South had 
closed with the unsuccessful attempt of the Americans to capture Savannah. 
The French fleet was withdrawn, and General Lincoln was in full retreat 
toward Charleston. Thus closed the campaign for 1779 with discour- 
agement for the Americans, as nothing of importance had been accomplished 
in the South. In the North the British were driven out of Rhode Island by 
the fear of a French fleet. Lafayette had gone to France and induced the 



266 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1775 

government to send a larger fleet and six thousand troops to America. Sir 
Henry Clinton sailed for South Carolina in December, 1779, and Washington 
went to winter quarters. While at best there was no perceptible gain on 
the land, the American sailors were achieving wonderful success from their 
bravery and audacity. John Paul Jones had dared to attack the strongest 
ships in the English navy, and had followed them into the very chops of the 
British channel. The Serapis and the Countess of ScarboroiigJi had struck 
their colors to the BonJionune Richard, the ship commanded by Jones, and 
he had taken in all, during the year, prizes to the amount of two hundred 
thousand dollars. The English had gained nothing in America, and had a 
great weight of trouble in other parts of the world. Spain had declared war 
with England, and the hands of the English were full. 

The campaign of 1780 in the South was a source of disasters to .the 
Americans, resulting in the loss of Charleston, the whole State of South 
Carolina, the destruction of two armies, and the scattering of a good band 
of independent rangers. Lincoln and his army surrendered at Charles- 
ton after a gallant defense of forty days. Thus the British took at one 
time between five and six thousand men, and four hundred pieces of 
artillery. 

Colonel Tarleton, a name which is held in contempt by all honest men, 
and which comes down the pages of history as the synonym of the meanest 
treachery, surrounded a band of patriots, who were retreating from 
Charleston toward North Carolina, with a force twice the size of the 
Americans, and almost annihilated them, killing men after they had 
surrendered and while they asked for quarter. It was a cold-blooded 
massacre, denounced by the liberal press of England in the most scathing 
terms. 

General Gates and Baron De Kalb were defeated at Sanders' Creek after 
a sanguinary encounter in which they were completely overcome, and Baron 
De Kalb was slain. The flower of the American army was now destroyed, and 
the hearts of the patriots were beating with anxiety. 

General Gates had ordered General Sumter to command a detachment to 
intercept a detachment of British and take their supplies. But when he 
heard of the defeat of General Gates, Sumter fortified his camp at the 
mouth of the Fishney Creek. Tarleton, the atrocious general, fell upon him 
and scattered his band. Sumter escaped, but his power was broken. 

But while these misfortunes were spreading a pall of darkness over the 
American cause, a man hitherto unknown was waging a warfare on his own 
account upon the tories, and hanging upon the flanks of the British army, 
dealing heavy blows to injure and cripple them. He was Marion, the 
partisan leader of South Carolina who had collected a band of Southern 
patriots after the fall of Charleston. He had been with the army in that 
city, but at the time of the surrender was at home with a wound, so he was 
not hampered by any parole. He came to General Gates just before the 
disastrous battle of Camden with a few ragged fellows, more grotesque than 



1782] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 267 

the soldiers of Falstaff. The general was inclined to ridicule them, but 
Governor Rutledge, who was present, knew the sterling qualities of the man, 
and made him a brigadier on the spot. The people of Williamsburg arose in 
arms and sent for him to command them. He went and organized his 
wonderful brigade which defied the British power after the disaster at 
Camden. 

Cornwallis organized the State of South Carolina as a royal province as 
military governor, but he was so merciless, vindictive and selfish that even 
those who were friendly to the British fell away from him, and on the 7th of 
October a band of patriots fell upon the army, which he was leading into the 
North State, at King's Mountain, two miles south of the State line, and totally 
defeated them. This gave the republicans renewed hope. On the seaboard 
Marion's men were doing wonders in driving back the British and redeeming 
the country. Cornwallis fell back to Wainsborough and fortified. Here he 
remained until he went in pursuit of Greene a few weeks later. Victory after 
victory crowned the efforts of Marion and his men, but he had confined his 
operations thus far to forages upon the enemy. Now he concluded to try 
strength in an open assault upon the British post at Georgetown. The 
partisan warrior was repulsed but not disheartened. He had a camp on 
Snow's Island in the Pedee country, and would sally forth so suddenly and 
attack the British unawares at so many and widely separated points in such a 
marvelously short time, that they became thoroughly alarmed, and 
determined to break up his rendezvous. This was not accomplished until the 
spring of 1781, when a band of tories led the way to his camp in the swamp, 
while he was away, took the few whom Marion had left there and destroyed 
his supplies. The hero, when he returned, was surprised, but not 
disheartened, and at once started in pursuit of the marauder, and after 
following him, suddenly turned and confronted the British colonel, Watson, 
who came up with fresh troops. 

But now we will turn to the North for a little while. In June, 1780, 
Clinton had made an invasion into New Jersey, burned Elizabeth and 
Connecticut Farms, and had been driven back to Staten Island after a severe 
defeat at Springfield, June 23. The French fleet under Count de Rocham- 
beau had landed in Rhode Island with six thousand land troops, July 10, 
1780. Lafayette had arranged the whole affair during his visit in France, 
and to prevent any conflict of authority, as in the case of D'Estaing, the 
French had commissioned Washington a Lieutenant General in their anny. 
Rochambeau first met Washington in Hartford, and his men were seni to 
encamp in Lebanon, Connecticut, as the season had too far advancetik for 
them to be of service in the campaign this season. 



268 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



[1775 




THE FIRST AND ONLY TRAITOR. 

OW we come to a sad chapter with which we wish 
to wind up the record of the year 1780. At different 
times during the war the British officers had attempted, 
directly or indirectly, to tamper with Americans of 
high rank whom they thought were of easy virtue, but 
not till the very last of the war had they found a 
single one to listen to their advances. Now they 
approached one whose personal ambition had led him to 
aspire to supersede his commander-in-chief, but he had failed in 
the attempt. Benedict Arnold, of Connecticut, the arch traitor 
and the man whose name would go down to posterity covered 
with execration to future generations, was a brave man, but 
thoroughly bad. He had fought nobly at the outbreak of the 
war, as we have seen, and held a high command in the 
Continental army. He was impulsive, vindictive and 
unscrupulous, and always in some sort of a quarrel with his fellow- 
generals ; unpopular with his command. When he was appointed 
to the command of Philadelphia,- after being wounded at Bemis' 
Heights, he married the daughter of a provincial tory, and lived in splendor 
far beyond his means. To meet the exactions of his creditors, he resorted to 
a great many fraudulent practices, which caused him to be reported to the 
Continental Congress. He was convicted and severely reprimanded by a 
court marshal appointed to try the case. Washington bestowed this 
reprimand, and Arnold, smarting under the disgrace, and pressed by the load 
of debt, fell into the grievous crime of betraying the command at West 
Point. He was regarded with suspicion, but Washington did not think him 
capable of treason. The price of his perfidy was to be a major general's 
commission in the English army and fifty thousand dollars. Major John 
Andre was sent by Sir Henry Clinton to complete the negotiations which had 
been going on for months. West Point was a fortified position on the 
Hudson, deemed of great importance to both parties, and was strongly 
garrisoned by the Americans. The plans were, that Clinton was to sail up 
the Hudson, attack the Fort, and after a show of resistance, Arnold was to 
surrender all the arms and men to him. But the final arrangements must be 
made by a personal conference, and Andre was sent for this purpose. He 
was taken up the Hudson on board of a British vessel, the Vulture, — rightly 
named — and landed ; but all did not work well, for some patriots dragged an 
old six-pounder out upon Tellers* Point, and hammered away with it until the 
Vulture was compelled to land Andre and drop down the river. He then 
proceeded on foot as far as Tarrytown, when he was stopped by three young 
Americans, searched, and sent to the nearest military post, then in command 
of Colonel Jackson. The colonel unwisely allowed the prisoner to send a 



1782] 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



269 



letter to Arnold, although he could not see why ; and then the double-dyed 
traitor abandoned the unfortunate Andre, and escaped in his own boat to the 
Vulture. Andre was more to be pitied than blamed, but found in the vile 
condition of an enemy taken in disguise, he was tried as a spy, found guilty 
and hanged, while the real miscreant escaped. Washington did his best to 
save the brave young officer, but the stern rules of war would not permit him 
to save one engaged in such an act. There were dark intimations of other 
treasons, and it would not do to pass this lightly by. Andre begged to die a 
soldier's death, but this was denied him, and he was executed on the second 
day of October, 1780. The double traitor, Arnold, whose life was not to be 
compared with that of Andre, lived and enjoyed the price of his treason. 

And thus the campaign of the sixth year closed with a dark plot for the 
betrayal of the cause of the American States by one of its own officers. 



THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE STRUGGLE. 



■ HE events of the year 1781 opened with one of the 
noblest displays of true patriotism in the army. For 
the long years of the struggle the soldiers had endured 
every privation and suffering from the want of money 
and clothing. The scrip in which they had been paid 
depreciated in value until it was almost worthless. 
Faction and discontent had come into the Continental 
Congress and prevented needed action upon important 
measures. The soldiers had enlisted for three years, or during 
the war, and this they regarded as meaning for three years if the 
war did not sooner end, but the officers interpreted it for the 
entire war, even if it lasted longer than three years. The 
soldiers asked for aid, which was not given them. On the 
^^first day of January, thirteen hundred of the Pennsylvania line 
who regarded their term of enlistment as having expired, 
marched out of their camp at Morristown and determined to 
return to Philadelphia in a body and demand their rights of 
General Anthony Wayne, who was much beloved by his command, 
tried by threats and promises to dissuade them, but they would not be 
persuaded. The poor fellows thought, rightly enough, that they had a 
righteous cause of grievance. General Wayne stood before them and cocked 
his pistol, but they presented bayonets to his breast and said, " We love and 
respect you ; you have often led us to battle, but we are no longer under 
your command ; be on your guard. If you fire your pistol we will put you 
to instant death." Wayne appealed to their patriotism, and they pointed to 
the impositions and unfulfilled promises of the Congress. He told them of 
the comfort and aid their conduct would give the enemy, and they pointed to 
their tattered garments and poorly-fed bodies, but said that they were willing 
6 




Congress. 



270 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1775 

to fight for freedom for it was dear to tfieir hearts, but Congress must make 
adequate provision for their comfort and necessities, and declared that they 
were determined to go to Philadelphia to enforce their rights, Wayne went 
with them, and when at Princeton they halted and drew up a written 
programme of their demands. This was forwarded to Congress and resulted 
in a compliance with their just demands. The Pennsylvania line was 
disbanded, but when Sir Henry Clinton endeavored to treat with them and 
sent emissaries to promise them all their back pay, one of the leaders said, 
*' See, comrades, he takes us for traitors, let us show him that the American 
army can furnish but one Arnold, and that America has no truer friends than 
we." They seized the emissaries and their papers and sent them to Wayne, 
who executed them as spies. When the reward was offered to the insurgents 
they refused to touch it and sent back word : '* Necessity compelled us to 
demand our rights of Congress, but we desire no reward for doing our duty 
to our bleeding country." Many of them re-enlisted for the war. On the 
18th of January the New Jersey troops, emboldened by this success, also 
mutinied, but the mutiny was put down by harsher means. Congress was 
aroused to action, and devised means for the relief of the soldiers. Taxes 
were imposed and cheerfully paid, money was loaned on the credit of the 
government, a national bank was established, and Robert Morris, who had 
given his wealth to the country and aided in establishing the national credit, 
was the president. He supplied the army with food and clothing bought on 
his own credit, and doubtless prevented it from disbanding by its own act. 
All honor to Robert Morris, who, though not a soldier, was a patriot and the 
soldiers' friend. 

The military operations of the year were confined to the South, and 
opened with a series of depredations committed by the arch traitor, Arnold, 
who seemed over anxious to inflict all the misery he could upon his suffering 
country, and earn the price of innocent blood with which his treason had 
been rewarded. He made two expeditions up the James river, destroying 
public and private property at Richmond and Petersburg, and although the 
Americans did their utmost to capture him, he was too cautious, watchful and 
quick for them, and after plundering and slaughtering the people on every 
hand, returned with the English fleet to the New England coast, where an 
inhuman butchery, equalled only by the massacre of the Wyoming Valley, 
was enacted under his command, of which we will speak hereafter. 

General Greene was appointed to supersede General Gates in command 
of the American forces in the South. The battle of Cowpens was fought 
January 17th, 1781, and resulted in a brilliant victory for the Americans. 
Then followed the most remarkable military movement in the war, the retreat 
of General Greene through North Carolina to Virginia, who was not strong 
enough to cope with the whole British army, but on the 15th of March, 
finding his force much increased in strength, he fought the battle of Guilford, 
and although the Americans were repulsed and the British were in possession 
of the field. Charles Fox, in a speech in the House of Commons, declared 



1782] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 271 

" Another such victory will ruin the British army." A line in the Scotch 
ballad was fully illustrated : 

" They baith did fight, they baith did beat, they baith did rin awa'." 

Cornwallis could not maintain the ground he had gained, and the 
Americans retreated in good order. Greene rallied his forces and pursued the 
British to Deep River, Chatham county. April 25th the American army was 
surprised and defeated at Hobkirk's Hill, but Greene conducted his retreat in 
good order. The British commander, Rawdon, set fire to Camden and 
retreated May loth. Within a week Greene captured four important posts, 
but was unsuccessful at Fort Ninety-Six from which he retired June 19th. 
Successes at other points were being reported. Fort Galpin and the city of 
Augusta, Georgia, had been taken by the Americans under Charles Lee. 
Now the British were retreating and the Americans were the pursuers. 

The battle of Eutaw Springs, September 8th, resulted in a victory for 
Greene. The partisan bands under Marion and Sumter were winning 
victories on the Santee waters. The French army left New England to come 
southward to the aid of Lafayette, and Washington succeeded in avoiding 
the watchfulness of General Clinton in New York, and crossed the Hudson 
into New Jersey, and was well on his way before Clinton was aware of his 
real intention. Arnold was sent to New England by the British to draw 
Washington back. Then followed the bloody and inhuman butchery of the 
garrison at Fort Griswold, opposite New London, in which nearly one hundred 
men were murdered in cold blood by the orders of the traitor. Cornwallis was 
fortifying his army at Yorktown. Clinton sent a fleet to aid him, but he was 
too late, for when the British ships came to the mouth of the Chesapeake they 
found the French fleet there, under De Grasse, to oppose their advance. The 
combined American and French forces under Washington and Lafayette were 
investing the whole British force under Cornwallis. A desperate defense was 
made and repeated sallies were attempted to drive the assailants from their 
works, but all without success. The end was approaching. In a few days 
the defenses at Yorktown were laid in ruins by the armies of Washington and 
his compeer. The English guns were put to silence. One night Cornwallis 
attempted to break the lines and get his men back to New York, but was 
prevented by the obstinate fire of the besiegers, and barely escaped to his 
intrenchments. All hope was over, and eight weeks after the siege began 
Cornwallis and his army of eight thousand men capitulated to the American 
commander-in-chief. 

Cornwallis felt the keenness of his humiliation and feigned sickness on 
the day of his surrender, and therefore sent his sword by an inferior officer. 
General Lincoln, who had before surrendered to Cornwallis under the most 
humiliating terms at Charleston, S. C, was detailed to receive the formal 
surrender. When the sword was handed to him he took it and at once 
returned it to the fallen English general. The war was virtually over, a little 
skirmishing was going on in Georgia and Sou<fi>- Carolina, but all was rejoicing 
and fjladness. 



272 THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. [1775 

Old King George was stubborn, but his Parliament would not sustain 
him, and although a treaty of peace was not signed until 1783, there was but 
little movement in America among the English, while the Americans were 
constantly on the watch. Savannah was evacuated July nth, 1782. The 
last blood was shed in September, 1782. Measures were taken by the 
American Congress and the British government to effect terms of peace. 
Peace was made with France and Spain. The Americans had become 
exhausted by the long struggle of eight years, and could show little more 
than their soil and their liberty in return for it all. Their commerce was 
dead; their fields ruined; their towns and cities in ashes; and they had no 
money. The public debt had swelled to one hundred and seventy millions of 
dollars, and there was nothing which could be called a government. Five 
commissioners were appointed to meet the English commission in Paris, and 
effect a settlement. John Adams, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas 
Jefferson and Henry Lawrence were the five chosen. A preliminary treaty 
was signed November 30th, 1782, but the final treaty was not signed till 
September 3d, 1783. That treaty gave full independence to the thirteen 
United States of America, with ample territory to the great lakes on the 
North and westward to the Mississippi river, with unlimited rights to fish on 
the banks of Newfoundland. The two Floridas were returned to Spain. 

There is one little episode prior to this time which we desire to mention: 
After the surrender of Cornwallis on the 19th of October, 1781, and before 
peace was declared, everything seemed to be in a perfect state of confusion. 
The thirteen States were loosely held together. Congress had but little 
power. There was no money to pay either officers or men, and they had 
been fighting for no pay. The army would become disbanded. They had 
fought bravely, heroically, and, as patriots, had won the victory. Now they 
must find a livelihood amid the desolations which had been wrought by the 
fearful struggle. The gloomy aspect threw a pall over all classes. Congress 
voted to retire the officers on half pay for life, and the soldiers must shirk for 
themselves, but this was afterwards changed to full pay for five years, and the 
soldiers to full pay for four months, in part pay for their losses. Great 
dissatisfaction arose all over the country. Many attributed the trouble to the 
weakness of a Republican form of government, and desired a monarchy. 
Nicola, a foreign officer in a Pennsylvania regiment, in a well-written letter, 
advocated the claims of a monarchy, and proposed that the army make 
George Washington king, but he was sharply rebuked for this by Washington, 
and it was never afterwards broached. 

The United States was now a nation recognized by England, France, 
Spain and Holland. But the feeble compact of the Continental Congress 
could not long hold them together. Each State might or might not comply 
with its demand, as she saw fit. That power could only discuss and advise. 
No taxes could be collected by their authority ; they could only apportion 
certain amounts for the States to raise or not, as they chose, and most 
fr:2quently they did not choose, and it became utterly impossible to raise 



1782] THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 273 

money by this method. The hardships and miseries of the people fell with a 
severe burden upon the laborers. The sufferings of a patient people could 
not endure everything, and their impatience showed itself in mutterings of 
discontent. A band of two thousand men in Massachusetts arose in revolt 
and demanded that the collection of taxes should cease for a time. It was 
some time before this insurrection could be put down. Four or five years of 
intense privation and suffering followed the Revolution ; and surrounded with 
the troubles of a misgoverned people, it almost seemed as if the war, after 
all, had been a failure. 

There had been dark days during the war, when men's hearts failed them 
and they lost confidence in Washington. Reverses and disasters came 
thick and fast, and he was retreating far too much. He adhered to a 
defensive policy when Congress was demanding quick and decisive blows to 
curb the invader. The people did not consider the utter insufificiency of his 
resources, but laid the blame of every reverse upon him. But when the tide 
of battle had turned, and Washington, with his well disciplined army, was 
moving on the offensive, and victory brought glory to him, they feared that 
he would become too powerful, and, like other conquerors, assume kingly 
prerogatives. His army ioved him with a fervor that amounted almost to 
idolatry, and he had but to speak the word and they would rise to hail him 
king. The country feared that he might prove another example of a 
successful military chieftain, who would be actuated by the lawless and vulgar 
lust of power which has disgraced the pages of history. But when the war 
was over, Washington sheathed his sword and resigned his commission. He 
had refused to receive pay for his services, and rendered to Congress a bill of 
his actual expenses, kept with neatness and precision, fo' the whole period 
from the time he assumed command to the close of the war. He then 
retired to cultivate the affection of men, and to practice the domestic 
virtues. He attended to his farm, and was thankful to escape the burden of 
responsibility which official position must bring. This exhibition of noble 
grandeur in its wonderful simplicity, endeared him forever to the hearts of the 
American people. Mount Vernon was to become the shrine to which the 
feet of patriots would turn, and where the measure of American devotion 
would be full. George Washington had won the proudest place in the hearts 
of his countrymen. The family of generals who composed his staff and his 
immediate companions loved him as a brother, and the common soldier 
regarded him as much more than an ordinary being, and his presence would 
inspire them with intense enthusiasm. The great mass of the people all 
over the country hailed him as the deliverer of his country, and esteemed 
him above all glorious names of those who had won the independence of the 
country. Washington and Lafayette were the two names that blended in all 
the public addresses and orations of the period, and rested alike upon the lips 
of the rich and poor. 




ASHINGTON and the leading minds of this period 
saw the great need of modifying or changing the 
articles of confederation which had held the thirteen 
States so loosely together. Congress was only a 
name, and the league held the States only for a 
moment ; it might be sundered by any one or more 
of them at will. The lovers of their country could 
discover at a glance that there was imperative need of a central 
government which should exercise power over all, and be respected 
by all. In the absence of such a government, the liberties of the 
people would be constantly in danger from internal dissension 
within and foreign, foes without. Some one might rise with the 
power to make himself king. Conspicuous among those who 
shared this view with Washington, was a New York man who had 
entered the army at nineteen, and had been the friend and 
companion of Washington through all the war, Alexander 
Hamilton. He had risen to high rank in command, and afterward to high 
position in office. He had brought order from the utter financial chaos 
which threatened the very existence of the army and country. It was he 
who first proposed the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED States. He 
was the firm friend and staunch ally of Washington all through the 
troublous times that tried the very life of the infant nation. Hamilton was a 
brave and skillful soldier, a brilliant debater, a persuasive writer and a true 
statesman. 

At the suggestion of Washington, a convention to remedy the defects of 
the articles of confederation was called to assemble at Annapolis, Maryland, 
in September, 1786; only five States sent delegates. John Dickinson was 
appointed chairman. They did little except to appoint a committee to revise 
the articles, and adjourn with a recommendation to Congress to call the 
meeting of a convention in Philadelphia the following May, to complete the 
work. Congress recommended the several States to send delegates to such a 
convention. The convention met with delegates from all the States except 
New Hampshire and Rhode Island, but they had not gone far before they 
found that no amount of amending and tinkering could make the old 
" Articles of Confederation " serve the purpose of a permanent government. 
For a number of days there was no progress. Such was the great variety 
and difference in opinion that everything was at a standstill. Franklin urged 
the necessity of imploring Divine assistance in a memorable speech, " How 



1787] THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 275 

has it happened, sir," he said, "that while groping so long in the dark, divided 
in our opinions, and now ready to separate without accomplishing the great 
object of our meeting, that we have hitherto not once thought of humbly- 
applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our understandings? In the 
beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we 
had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were 
heard and graciously answered. * * * The longer I live, the more 
convincing proofs I see of the truth that God governs in the affairs of men, 
I therefore move that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven 
and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning 
before we proceed to business." It was adopted. After long and earnest 
discussion the convention referred all papers to a committee of detail, and 
adjourned for ten days. .They reassembled and the committee reported a 
rough draft of the present constitution. Amendments were made, long and 
angry discussion followed, and the whole matter was referred to a committee 
for final revision. This final report was made September 12th, 1787, and the 
Constitution was submitted to the Legislatures of the several States for 
adoption. The convention had worked for four months, and was composed 
of the ablest and best men in the country. George Washington was the 
president ; Benjamin Franklin brought the ripe experience of eighty-two 
years to this crowning task of a noble life. Alexander Hamilton came from 
New York. And with such men came many whose names are held in 
enduring honor by a grateful people. These men were the peers of any in 
the country, and this assembly had not seen its equal since the convention 
which published the " Declaration of Independence " had met in the same 
hall eleven years before. Their great work had gone out to the country, and 
the people were divided in sentiment upon it. There were many true 
patriots and lovers of their country who were opposed to it. They were 
strong in their argument, and conscientious in their opposition. Some feared 
the most those evils which would arise from a weak government, and sought 
relief from this in a close union of the States under a strong central 
government, and some feared the example of the over-governed nations of 
Europe and hesitated to give too much power to the central government for 
fear that a despotism might arise. State sovereignty, sectional interests, and 
radical democracy, all had their advocates, and were united only in opposing 
the ratification. Hamilton wrote pamphlets and articles for the public press 
in its favor. Washington threw the whole weight of his influence in its favor. 
Thomas Payne sent out his powerful argument in the " Crisis," and the 
•excitement ran high. Somewhat reluctantly, and in many cases by bare 
majorities, the States all ratified it, and it became the organic law of the 
land. At once, ten amendments were proposed and accepted, to meet the 
views of those who were apprehensive of too much power in the central 
government, and a trial of its powers for nearly a century has demonstrated 
the wisdom of those men who devised it, and asked the blessing of God upon 
their deliberations. 



2^6 THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. [1787 

This constitution is the supreme law of the land. Under its authority 
the President, the Congress, the judiciary act, and all the laws passed, must 
be in conformity to it. Congress may pass an act unanimously and the 
President heartily sign it, but if the Supreme Court decide that it is contrary 
to the Constitution, it has no binding force as law, and can never be executed. 
The great love of law which predominates in the Anglo-Saxon race has 
caused a reverence for this document which rouses the nation to arms when 
once it is assailed. 

When eleven States had ratified this Constitution, the Continental 
Congress took measures to carry it out, and fixed the time for choosing the 
electors of President and Vice President. They provided for an organization 
of the new form of government, and a transfer of their power. On the 
fourth day of March the National Constitution became the supreme law 
of the land, and the Continental Congress passed out of existence. This was 
the commencement of the glorious career of the United States as a nation. 

One thing we should mention before passing to the Administration of the 
first President. The old Congress had organized a territorial government for 
the vast region northwest of the Ohio river. In the bill in which this was 
done there were many important provisions. It contained a provision 
Striking at the old English law of primogeniture, in which estates descended 
to the eldest born, and instead this law divided the property among all the 
children, or the next of kin. It also declared that " there shall neither be 
slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory, otherwise than in 
punishment for crime whereof the party shall be duly convicted." This was 
adopted July 13th, 1787, and at once a mighty tide of immigration began to 
flow into that fertile region, amounting to twenty thousand in one year, 
1788. 




1789] 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



277 




THE ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON. 



HEN the vote of electors was opened by Congress it 
was found that George Washington had been unani- 
mously elected for President, and John Adams for 
Vice President of the United States. 

There was much work to be done to get the new 
machine of government into working order. The 
first serious question was what to do with the public 
debt. Washington was perplexed, and with a sigh asked a friend, 
" What is to be done about this heavy debt ? " " There is but one 
man in America can tell you," replied his friend, '' and that is 
Alexander Hamilton." The subject of the tariff was brought forward 
by James Madison, the acknowledged leader of the House of 
Representatives, two days after the vote of President and Vice 
President had been counted. He proposed a tax on tonnage and a 
duty on foreign goods brought into the United States, that were 
favorable to American shipping. Then three executive departments 
were organized, namely, of the Treasury, of War, and of Foreign Affairs, at the 
head of each was a secretary. These were to be appointed by the President 
with the concurrence of the Senate, and should form his advisory council, and 
report in writing when required. Alexander Hamilton was appointed 
Secretary of the Treasury. He was the most able financier of the Revolution, 
and made those remarkable reports which for twenty years formed the policy 
of the national government. He proposed the funding of all the public debt, 
registered and unregistered ; the payment of the interest ; the redemption of 
the Continental money, and the assumption of the State debts. The 
government certificates and Continental money had depreciated from their 
face value, and were held by speculators who had bought them at a low price, 
and some thought that the government ought not to pay full price for them, 
but Hamilton wisely clainr^ed that the public credit was concerned in its full 
redemption. All these outstanding debts were to be funded, and, interest 
paid at six per cent, until the government should be able to pay the principal. 
A sinking fund was formd by appropriating the receipts of post offices, and it 
was prophesied that in five years the United States could borrow money in 
Europe at five per cent. A system of revenue from imports and internal 
duties was devised by Hamilton, and all his proposed measures were adopted 
by Congress at their second session. 

While the House was at work on the revenues, the Senate were engaged 
on the problem of the judiciary. Senator Ellsworth of Connecticut, proposed 
a measure which was adopted with some changes. Webster afterwards said 
of Hamilton, in his eloquent style, " He smote the rock of natural resources 



2/8 THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. [1789 

and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse 
of the pubhc credit and it sprang upon its feet." The vigor of a government, 
so unHke the old Congress, renewed the public confidence, and commerce 
began at once to improve. Ships were built, and in a few years the new flag 
was floating on every sea and in every port. The people at home were 
recovering from their poverty imposed by the war. Agriculture and 
manufactures were prosperous, and a steady stream of immigration from the 
coast westward was opening up the wonderful resources of the regions 
beyond the Alleghanies and Ohio river. North Carolina and Rhode Island, 
the only two States which had not adopted the Constitution, now came into 
the Union, the first, November, 1789, and the latter May 29, 1790. The third 
session of the first Congress met in December, 1790, and found all 
departments of government in good condition, ample revenue coming in, 
and general prosperity on all sides. During this session, the first of a long 
list of States which should come in to swell the original thirteen was 
admitted. Vermont came into the Union February i8th, 1791, and the 
territory southwest of the Ohio was formed. A national currency was 
established. The question of a national coinage of money was decided at the 
first session of the second Congress, and a mint established at Philadelphia. 
The post office department was organized at this session, but the Postmaster 
General was not made a cabinet officer until 1829. Most of the first term of 
Washington as* President was taken up in getting the government into 
working order, but such was the moderation, wisdom, and patriotism of these 
grand men who performed this gigantic but novel work, in which they had no 
model to guide them, that but few changes have had to be made, and none of 
these few were in any degree radical. 

There had been some disturbance with the Indians in the northwest, 
incited by emissaries from the British, who still held some of the posts on the 
frontier, contrary to the provisions of the treaty of Paris. Open hostilities 
began in 1790, and General St. Clair, the governor of the Territory, with two 
thousand troops, was surprised and defeated ip Drake county, Ohio, 
November 4, 1791, but General Anthony Wayne was sent to take command 
and punish the savages, which he did so effectually that they caused little 
trouble until the war of 1812-15. Kentucky was admitted to the Union 
June 1st, 1792. 

Party spirit assumed definite form during the second session of the 
Second Congress, just as the first term of Washington was coming to an end. 
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were the two men around whom 
the organizations began to crystallize. They were both members of 
Washington's cabinet. Hamilton became the leader of the Federalists and 
Jefferson of the Republicans. The Federalists believed in a strong central 
government, and would concentrate the power of the national government, 
while the Republicans would distribute the power among the States. 
Hence arose the strife between the two, and the country was being stirred by 
bitter discussion, and in the heart of this excitement the second election came 



I797J THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 279 

on. Washington and Adams were re-elected by large majorities. The 
Republicans were gaining in numbers and strength, and when the French 
Republic had declared war against England, Spain and Holland, Genet came 
from France to procure aid and sympathy from America. The Republicans 
and many Federalists received him with open arms, and he began to fit out 
privateers to fight England and Spain. Washington prudently issued a 
proclamation of neutrality, May 9th, 1793, but Genet insisted, and tried to 
excite hostility between our people and their own government. Washington 
finally requested his government to recall him, which they did, and the 
French assured the United States that their government disapproved of the 
course Genet had taken. 

The first insurrection against the government arose in Pennsylvania, and 
is called the " Whisky Rebellion." It was caused by Congress imposing an 
excise duty on domestic liquors. This measure was very unpopular, and 
awakened opposition. The insurrection broke out in the western part of 
Pennsylvania and spread over all that portion of the State, and into Virginia. 
At one time six or seven thousand men were under arms. The local militia 
were powerless, or in sympathy with the rebels. Washington issued two 
proclamations to them to disperse, but seeing that they would not disband 
by peaceful means, he ordered out a large body of militia from New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, under command of General Henry Lee, 
which quelled the rebellion, and thus the trouble that had threatened the 
stability of the nation was averted. 

Another dark cloud arose above the horizon. England and America 
accused each other of infringing upon the terms of the treaty of 1783. The 
United States claimed that the British had not indemnified them for negroes 
carried away at the close of the war. That English posts on the frontier 
were maintained contrary to treaty. They had been inciting the Indians to 
hostility, and in the war with France the neutrality of our ships had been 
violated. The British claimed that the United States had not done as they 
agreed concerning the property of loyalists, and the debts contracted in 
England prior to the Revolution. War seemed inevitable, and was only 
averted by the prudence and wisdom of Washington, who sent John Jay as 
envoy extraordinary to England to compromise and settle. He effected the 
best arrangement he could by which the British might collect all debts actually 
due them before the war, but they would not pay for the slaves taken away. 
The British would pay for unlawful seizure in the war with France, and 
evacuate the forts on the frontier. This was not satisfactory to most of the 
people, but congress ratified it on the 24th of June, 1795. Soon after John 
Jay proved his patriotism by concluding a treaty with Spain by which the 
United States gained the free use of the Mississippi River and the port of New 
Orleans, for ten years. Through the whole of Washington's administration, 
the greatest prudence, circumspection and wisdom were needed. No sooner 
had one difficulty been surmounted than another appeared. The infant 
commerce which was spreading all over the world, was attacked by the 



28o 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



['797 



Algerian pirates, who captured large numbers of American sailors, and held 
them in white slavery in the Barbary States, until their ransom was paid. 
This gave rise to efforts to establish a navy. After many attempts had been 
made, Congress finally in the spring of 1794, passed a law creating a navy 
and appropriating seven hundred thousand dollars to build and equip vessels. 
In the absence of the proposed navy, the United States in common with 
other governments entered into a treaty to pay the Dey of Algiers an annual 
tribute for the ransom of captives taken by his pirates. 

Washington's administration, which was drawing to a close, had been one 
of incessant care and action. The two parties that had arisen during his 
administration were ready to enter the political contest when Washington 
issued his famous Farewell Address. After retiring from office he lived fo r 
three years at his home in Mount Vernon, and died December i8th, 1799. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

'HE two parties had but little time to engage in tht 
contest for the election of a successor to Washington 
after the publication of his Farewell Address in 
September., for the election came in November. The 
contest was sharp and earnest, and resulted in a victory 
for both sides. John Adams was elected President, 
and Thomas Jefferson, Vice President. They were 
inaugurated March 4th, 1797, and were confronted at the very 
outset of their administration by a threatened war with France. 
The French Directory which had the management of govern- 
ment at the time, had ordered Pinckney, the American minister, 
to leave the country ; depredations were committed upon 
American commerce and the French minister had insulted the 
United States. Adams took very decided and active measures 
4^ to redress the wrong. He sent three ministers to France to 
settle the difficulty with Pinckney at their head. The French 
^ would not treat with them, and the Americans made ready for 
The navy was finished and ships put in commission. A large land 
force was collected and equipped, and there was a naval battle in which the 
French man-of-war was conquered. But there had been no formal declaration 
of war, and the PVench Republic, seeing the strong position of the United 
States, receded and made overtures of settlement. Three envoys were sent 
and conferred with Napoleon, and concluded a treaty of friendship and peace. 
The ambassadors returned to America, and the army was disbanded. 

Two very unpopular measures were passed by the administration known 
as the Alien and Sedition laws, which they were obliged to repeal the next 
year. 

The death of Washington in the last month of the century was a sad 




war. 



i8oi] 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



281 



bereavement to the country, and every party voice was hushed in silence 
while the nation did honor to his memory. Napoleon, then First Consul 
of France, rendered universal honor to his memory in a General Order to his 
army in which he said, " Washington is dead ! This great man fought against 
tyranny ; he established the liberties of his country. His memory will always 
be dear to the French people as it will be to all free men of the two worlds ; 
and especially to French soldiers, who like him and the American soldiers, 
have combated for liberty and equality." 

The Congress of the United States, and the Legislatures of all the States 
united with the whole people all over the land in paying the highest tribute 
to his memory. 

In the year 1800 the second enumeration of the population was taken, 
and the census reported 5,319,762, an increase in ten years of thirty per cent. 

There came another election in which party spirit ran high. The 
Democratic party nominated Thomas Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr, 
Vice President, and the Federalists John Adams and C. C. Pinckncy. There 
was no election in the electoral college, and it was sent to the House of 
Representatives. After a severe struggle in which thirty-five ballots were 
taken, Mr. Jefferson was elected President, Aaron Burr was chosen Vice 
President, by the Senate. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

rHE inauguration address of Mr. Jefferson was waited for 
with much anxiety by the people throughout the 
country, as he was the first exponent of the new party 
who had been raised to the chief magistracy of the land. 
He surprised all classes by the manly and conservative 
views which he uttered, and at once all fears were 
allayed. Although he made some removals from ofifice 
and set vigorously at work to reform abuses and irregularities, 
his measures were so conciliatory and just that many Federalists 
came over to his party and heartily supported his adminis- 
tration. The obnoxious laws were repealed. The diplomatic 
system was put on better footing, the judiciary was revised, 
certain offices were abolished, and vigor and enlightened views 
marked the beginning of his term. One State and two 
territories were added to the Union in his first term of office. 
Ohio was admitted in the fall of 1802, and the territories of 
Louisiana and New Orleans were purchased of France for 
fifteen million dollars. This bargain was effected in April, 1803, and the 
United States took peaceful occupation of the land in the autumn of the 
same year. It contained eighty-five thousand mixed population and forty 
thousand negroes. 

A naval expedition was sent out to the Mediterranean to put an end to 




282 THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. [1801 

the infamous tribute extorted from the United States, to redeem the 
American sailors held in slavery by the Barbary States. 

Captain Bainbridge had gone to Algiers in 1800 with the tribute money, 
and when it was paid the Dey demanded the use of his ship to carry an 
ambassador to Constantinople; and, when Bainbridge refused, the Dey 
replied, " You pay me tribute, by which you become my slaves, and therefore 
I have a right to order you as I think proper." Although the captain was 
obliged to comply with that demand, the insult resulted in a severe 
punishment, which a few years later put an end to white slavery in the 
Barbary States. It is hard for us to realize that even in the nineteenth 
century our countrymen have been held in great numbers in the most 
degrading slavery in the north of Africa. The merchantmen who displayed 
the American flag made their appearance in the Mediterranean directly after 
the Revolution. The pirates of the Barbary States would attack them, and 
when captured would sell them into slavery. There Avere thousands of sailors 
from New England and the Atlantic coast thus held when the century began. 
The indignation of the United States was aroused, and they determined to 
put an end to the infamy, which the government of Europe had long 
tolerated at their very doors. In 1803 Commodore Preble was sent to humble 
the pirates. After bringing Morocco to terms, he came to Tripoli. There he 
had the misfortune to lose a large vessel, the Philadelphia, which struck upon 
a rock, and before she could be got off she was captured. The officers were 
treated as prisoners of war, but the crew were sold into slavery. The next 
year, 1804, this disaster was somewhat repaired. Lieutenant Decatur with 
seventy-six volunteers, entered the harbor of Tripoli and boarded the 
Philadelphia, drove off her captors, and setting fire to her, made their escape 
without losing a man. This gallant act received", ample acknowledgment 
from the Navy and the home governm.ent. 

In the first term of Mr. Jefferson the first exploration to the Pacific 
was organized, and sent out under the command of Captains Lewis and 
Clarke. They left the Mississippi the 14th of May, 1804. 

Mr. Jefferson was re-elected for a second term, but Mr. Burr, who had 
displeased the Democratic party, was not nominated by them, and George 
Clinton was elected Vice President. Burr, in anger, and feeling that he had 
lost the confidence of the people, resolved to cause a revolt in the regions 
southwest of the Mississippi. He had murdered Alexander Hamilton in a 
duel July 12, 1804, and was generally abhorred by all classes. The attempt of 
Burr against the Government failed. There were indications of a war with 
Spain, but it was providentially averted. The United States were continually 
irritated by the British claim to a right to search American vessels and take 
away any suspected deserters from their army or navy. An act of partial 
non-intercourse with England took effect November, 1806. 

In 1807, the first steamboat was built by Robert Fulton, and the 
application of steam to navigation became a fact. The ominous war cloud 
that threatened the country grew heavy and dark. France and England 



8oi] 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



^83 



vere at war, and they both were inflicting injury and insult upon our young 
'ut thriving commerce. England still seized and searched American vessels, 
£sued orders and decrees against commerce, proclaimed blockades on paper, 
x\d was crippling the marine interests of the United States, in order to 
prevent them from reaping any benefit from the French carrying trade. 
Napoleon retaliated with like orders, decrees, and paper blockades, and between 
ihe upper and nether millstones of these two powers the commerce of 
America was being ground to pieces. The crisis came. Four seamen of the 
United States man-of-war, Chesapeake, were claimed as deserters from the 
British ship, Mclavipiis, and Commodore Barron of the Chesapeake refused to 
give them up. A little while after the Chesapeake was unexpectedly attacked 
by two English vessels, and was obliged to surrender the men. This aroused 
the nation, and Jefferson issued a proclamation in July, 1807, that all British 
ships should leave American waters. Great Britain continued in her unjust 
course, and a general embargo was placed upon all shipping, detaining all 
American and English vessels in any of the ports of the United States, and 
ordering all American vessels in other ports to return home, that their seamen 
might be trained for war. This embargo was the cause of great distress, and 
put American patriotism and firmness to a severe test. This measure failed 
to accomplish the desired result, and was repealed three days before Jefferson 
retired from the office which he had held for eight years, and at the same 
time Congress passed a law forbidding any commercial intercourse with 
France and England so long as their unjust orders and edicts were in force. 
James Madison was elected President, and George Clinton. Vice President for 
the n^xt four years. 




284 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



[1809 




THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. 

rHERE was no man in the unprejudiced judgment of the 
people of all classes better fitted to administer the 
government in this period of gloom and doubt than 
James Madison, who had been the Secretary of State 
under Jefferson. He made no change in his policy, 
and pressed the claims of the United States for a redress 
of grievances upon both England and France. The 
latter acceded to the rights of America, but still continued to 
deal in a covert and underhanded way, while England, in a 
more honorable but wicked way, persisted in her right to 
impress and search. There was an important question at 
issue between the United States and the foreign governments. 
J^ It was the right of changing allegiance from one country to 
^"^ another. England held that a man born under her flag was 
^i^ forever an English subject, and although he might settle in 
any part of the world, he could claim the privileges of a 
British subject, and was bound by the obligation of citizenship 
to render service to the English flag. America on the other hand, claimed 
that a man had the right to choose the place of his citizenship, and could 
renounce his allegiance to the land of his birth, and become a citizen of any 
country he should choose to settle in. The Englishmen who had settled in 
America were regarded as American citizens and nothing else. She would 
defend the rights of her adopted sons, and maintain her position to all the 
nations of the world. 

England had a system of obtaining seamen for her navy by impressment ; 
that is, she would take men who were engaged in the merchant service and 
compel them to serve on her men-of-war. This was a species of slavery, and 
the men thus obtained would embrace the first opportunity to desert. These 
desertions became frequent, and the natural refuge in America was in most 
instances sought, and the protection of its flag obtained. Now it was very 
hard to distinguish between an English and an American sailor, and when the 
American ships were searched the English were not very exact as to 
nationality, provided they got a first class sailor. Thus things went on until 
181 1, when the British sloop of war, U/f/e Belt, was met off the Virginia 
coast by the American frigate, President, and was obliged to pull down her 
flag, after a severe fight. 

This same year an Indian revolt broke out which was evidently the 
result of English intrigue. All the frontier tribes were engaged in it, under 
a crafty, intrepid and unscrupulous chief, Tecumseh. It was suppressed by 
General William H. Harrison, who thus became the hero of Tippecanoe, in a 
severe engagement which routed the whole Indian force. The nation was 
now ready for war. England had an immense navy of nine hundred vessels 
with one hundred and forty-four thousand men, while America had twelve 



i8i7] THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 285 

vessels, which mustered about three hundred guns. It seemed the wildest 
folly to cope with " the mistress of the seas " at such a fearful odds, but the 
rallying cry, " FREE TRADE AND Sailors' Rights " was taken up from 
the Lakes to the Gulf, and war was formally declared June 19, 181 2. The 
people of the West and North were no less enthusiastic than on the seaboard. 
The only region where the Federalists, or peace party, was predominant 
was in New England. Congress at once voted an appropriation of fifteen 
million dollars for the army, and three millions for the navy, and authorized 
the President to enlist twenty-five thousand regulars and fifty thousand 
volunteers for the army, and call out one hundred thousand militia for the 
defense of the coast. 

THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE, 

as this contest was rightly named, now began. Benjamin Franklin had before 
this said to a friend who had called the Revolution the war of independence, 
" Not the war of independence, but the war for independence." And now 
the second act of the grand drama was to be presented to the world. There 
had been all along a suspicion that England had not relinquished her hope to 
regain the colonies she had lost. The constant intrigues with the Indians, 
the subtle arts of diplomacy, and her heavy armament in Canada pointed to 
this. The American nation was watchful and jealous, and now the whole 
force of her power was thrown to settle the question of nationality forever. 
Four days after the declaration of war, England had repealed her blockading 
decree, and there remained only the question of the right of search and 
expatriation. The British minister at Vv'^ashington offered to peaceably settle 
the question at difference, but his proposition was rejected. 

The first attempts in the war were signal failures. General Hull was sent 
to Canada with an army of invasion, but no sooner was he on Canada soil 
than he was obliged to surrender. He was put on trial before a court 
martial, on his return to the States, found guilty, and sentenced to be shot. 
But he had been a brave officer in the Revolution, and for his past services 
he was pardoned. His reputation was afterward vindicated, and the cloud 
removed from his fair name, but he retired to private life. The war had been 
long threatening, and in this time Canada was fortifying her strong points 
and preparing for a threatened invasion. The able generals of the Revolution 
were now either all dead, or too old for active service ; and the army was either 
under the command of men who had been inferior officers in their youth and 
were now old men, or of men who had seen but little service except with the 
Indians. A second invasion under Colonel Van Renssellaer was equally 
unsuccessful. The whole army of the Northwest had surrendered, and 
nothing was gained at that point. But on the sea, the American sailor had 
dared to measure strength with the British, and had been remarkably 
successful in every engagement during the first year of the war. In spite of 
the tremendous odds in the navies of the two countries, the American was 



286 THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. [1812 

gaining victory after victory. The British ship, Giicrricrc, had been taken 
by the frigate, ConstitiUion, August 19, 1812. The Frolic had struck the 
EngHsh flag to the little Wasp October i8th. T\\.q Macedonian surrendered to 
the United States October 25th, and the Java to the Constitution December 
29th, all in the same year. This rekindled the national spirit, and made up 
for the defeat on the land. The country was justly elated by these successes, 
and sustained the administration by re-electing Mr. Madison to a second term. 

The second year of the war,* and the first of Mr. Madison's second term, 
was signalized by a series of important victories by the Americans in Canada ; 
and the naval victory of Commodore Perry, on Lake Erie, by which the 
United States became masters of the Great Lakes. These were cheering to 
the Americans. At sea, England was doing her best to retrieve the severe 
blows she had received the year previous, and regain her injured prestige as 
" Monarch of the Seas." The loss she had met the autumn before, of five 
ships, was a heavy blow to her pride, and her statesmen regarded this 
humiliation as greater than the loss of so many battles. No other country, 
before this, had produced sailors equal to hers. Now she had met her first 
disasters from an inferior, and strenuous effort must be made to undo this 
disgrace. The British nation and navy felt this, and put forth their best 
endeavors to show their superiority. Two English ships came to Boston in 
the summer of 1813, and Captain Broke sent a challenge to Captain 
Lawrence to come out and " try the fortunes of their respective flags." The 
English captain sent one of his ships away, and with the Shanno?i waited for 
the Chesapeake to come out. Captain Lawrence accepted the challenge, and 
went to his death. The fight lasted only fifteen minutes, but in that time the 
Chesapeake was dismantled, her commander killed, and her flag struck to the 
proud ensign of Britain. This was June 1st, 1813. This same Captain 
Lawrence, who exclaimed, " Don't give up the ship ! " with his latest breath, 
had in February before, taken the English frigate. Peacock, with the sloop 
Hornet. In August another disaster befell the American navy. It was the 
loss of the Argus, which had taken Mr. Crawford, the minister, to France, 
across the ocean, which was obliged to surrender to the Pelicaji. The tide of 
victory now turned, and the English ship Boxer struck her flag to the 
Enterprise, September 5th. The complete naval victory of Commodore Perry, 
on Lake Erie, in which he captured the whole English fleet of six vessels, 
followed. When the year closed, the balance seemed to be in favor of the 
Americans. On land, the war had been waged with varying fortunes. 

The English had talked of chastizing America into submission, and the 
instrument they sent was a squadron under the command of Admiral 
Cockburn, which scattered to different points on the Atlantic coast and 
burned, robbed and slaughtered, ivithoiit mercy. In April, they destroyed 
the town of Lewiston, on the Delaware ; in May, Frenchtown, Havre de 
Grace, Georgetown, and Frederickstown on the Chesapeake, and all along the 
southern coast committed their fearful work of depredation and pillage. 
Commodore Hardy was sent to the New England coast, but his conduct 



i8i5] THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 287 

everywhere was in strong contrast to that of Admiral Cockburn. He acted 
like a high-minded gentleman and generous enemy. He landed at Castine, 
Maine, and sent a land force up the Penobscot to capture the sloop of war 
Adams. 

The war was now carried on with renewed vigor by the United States 
and men and money were furnished without stint. The Americans were 
gaining victories and matters were progressing. Then came an act which 
was most reprehensible and unusual in the annals of civilized warfare, for 
which the home government of England was solely responsible. The war 
with Napoleon had ended at the battle of Waterloo, and the veterans of 
Wellington were sent to America.* The city of Washington was taken by 
them, and acting under orders the people were commanded to pay a large 
sum or have the public buildings burned. They refused to pay and the 
Capitol, Post Office building. President's mansion and other buildings were 
plundered and burned. The navy yard and some ships in process of 
building were burned by the Americans themselves. The bridge across 
the Potomac was destroyed, and then the British vandals withdrew 
to the coast. The war was scattered over a wide theater and the 
Americans were gaining victories here and there. Commodore Macdonough 
had gained a complete success over the whole English fleet on Lake 
Champlain, and the British sailor found his match on the ocean in his 
Anglo-American kinsman. Both sides were becoming weary of a devastating 
war and already there were negotiations for peace. The treaty was 
signed in December, 18 14, and sent to America, but before it had 
arrived or was known one of the most remarkable battles of history had 
been fought and won. This deserves record and we will here give a 
short account of it. 

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 

If there had been a submarine telegfaph in 181 5 the battle of New 
Orleans would never have been fought, and much English blood would 
have been saved. The treaty was signed December 24th, 18 14, and it was 
seven weeks before the news came to the southern portions of America. 
New Orleans was then a town of twenty thousand inhabitants and, as now, 
the center of a large cotton trade. The English Commander, General Packen- 
ham, saw that it was an important point and decided to attack it. He had 
the best English troops fresh from their victories in Europe. Andrew 
Jackson, now a Major-General in the army, arrived at New Orleans December 
2d, and, declaring martial law, soon restored confidence. He fortified the 
city, and when the British squadron, bearing twelve thousand soldiers, made 
their appearance he was ready to give them a good reception. On the 23d 
of December he met the advance guard of the army, twenty four hundred 
and routed them at a place about nine miles from the city, then he returned 
to a stronger position. He built a line of breastworks of cotton bales and 
earth to defend New Orleans, and awaited the attack that was made 



288 THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. [1815 

Janurr^/ ^th, 181 5. These defenses were four miles from the city, and 
guardca the advance. General Packenham advanced with his entire 
army, uirtjer the best military discipline in the world, numbering twelve 
thousanvl. Jackson had less than six thousand men and the most of them 
were milit 'a, but all had become good marksmen in the western woods. All 
was silent as the grave while the British advanced in solid column to carry 
the works, " Trust in God and keep your powder dry" had been Jackson's 
advice in the swamps of Florida, and now his men were putting it in 
practice. Steadily the attacking' army advanced and not a shot was fired 
until they were half a gun-shot distant, and then a terrific fire, every shot of 
which did good execution, burst upon the assailants. The British column 
wavered, their general was killed and they fled in confusion leaving seven 
hundred dead and more than a thousand wounded on the field. The 
fugitives hastened to their camp and ten days after sailed from the mouth of 
the Mississippi. This battle saved the whole South from invasion and 
rapine which would have followed before the news of peace was received. 

Thus the war closed, and both countries could point with pride to the 
heroic courage that had been displayed on land and sea, and deck their brave 
defenders with the medals of honor. The president issued his proclamation 
that peace was declared, February i8th, 1815, and the people united in 
celebrating the return of quiet all over the country. Business had become 
prostrated, the ships were rotting idly at the docks and industry was at a 
stand-still. The echoes of the shouts of rejoicing had not died on the air 
before the ring of the woodman's axe was heard in the forest of the settler, 
and the sound of the carpenter in the deserted shipyards. Commerce revived 
and industry lifted up its head. The Americans had the wonderful power of 
rapid recuperation from disaster. The treaty was not all that America could 
ask, but she had asserted her claim and maintained her rights. Never afterward 
was a sailor taken from an American ship as an English deserter ; sailors' 
rights were maintained, and the^ag of the United States respected as never 
before. The Americans had lost thirty thousand lives, and one hundred 
millions of treasure, while England had suffered much heavier. The war had 
been a gigantic piece of folly and crime such as we trust no future generation 
will re-enact. 

During Mr. Madison's term and after the peace with England, the 
Algerian pirates thinking that the power of the United States on the sea had 
been broken, began their depredations again and were violating their treaty. 
Commodore Decatur was sent to punish them and forever put a stop to their 
infamous traffic. He bombarded Tripoli and the capitals of the several 
Barbary States which were subject to Turkey, brought their rulers to terms 
and compelled each State to re-imburse the United States for the losses 
caused to American shipping, and free all the American and English slaves 
held by them. This put an end to the infamy for all time. 

The only remaining events worthy of notice during the remainder of 
this Presidential term, were the admission of Indiana into the Union 



i8i7] 



THE CONSTlTUT10N7\L PERIOD. 



289 



December, 18 16, and the chartering of a United States Bank with a capital 
of thirty-five milHon dollars. 

The new election resulted in the choice of James Monroe as President 
and Daniel D. Tompkins as Vice President. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE. 

'HE fifth President of the American Republic had been 
the Secretary of State under his predecessor. His 
administration was distinguished by the rapid growth in 
material wealth and population, and the expansion of 
all the resources of the Republic. The manufactories 
of the United States, which had kept busy during the 
war, suffered from the influx of foreign goods, and were 
obliged to contract their work. This compelled many who 
had been engaged in them to seek new homes in the fertile 
lands beyond the Alleghanies and Ohio, and a steady and 
uninterrupted flood of emigration flowed in from the seaboard. 
New States and Territories were formed and the natural 
IfkO resources of the country were being developed at a most rapid 
1^' rate. Mississippi was admitted into the Union December loth, 
^K^ 1817; Illinois December 3d, 1818 ; Alabama December 14th, 
1819; Maine March 3d, 1820; Missouri March 2d, 1821. The 
buccaneering pirates that infested the Gulf of Mexico were 
surprised and put down. Florida was bought of Spain for seven millions by 
a treaty signed at Washington, February, 18 19. It was an era of general 
prosperity and growth. But the continued presence of slavery was a 
menace to the Union, and in 1821 the measure known as the Missouri Com- 
promise was passed through Congress, and Missouri was admitted as a slave 
State. The temporary excitement abated, and the re-election of Mr. Monroe 
and his associate, was the most formal and quiet affair ever known in 
American politics. His administration had made itself popular by two 
measures which had been passed. The first was the pensioning of all the 
surviving soldiers of the Revolution, their dependent widows and orphans, 
and the second, the settlement of the boundary line from the Lake o/' the 
Woods to the Rocky Mountains. 

The visit of Lafayette, the friend and companion of Washington, to this 
country, in which he was the nation's guest and received ovations in every 
town and city through which he passed, occurred in 1824-5. He was every- 
where frreeted with the wildest enthusiasm and met men who had served 
under him in the war. He saw the wonderful improvement on all sides, and 
towns, counties, streets and public institutions on every hand had been called 
after him. When he was ready to return, the government placed at his 




290 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



[1817 




service a vessel, named after the battle in which he first fought in the 
Revolution — the Brnndyzvine. 

LAFAYETTE. 

THE FRIEND OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND 
AMERICAN FREEDOM ! 

The Marquis de Lafayette was born in 
1757, and was one of the most extraor- 
dinary and influ.ential men of his time. He 
was, in the fullest sense, a member of the 
French aristocracy, and a gentleman of 
fortune. His precocity may be inferred 
from the fact, that at the age of fourteen 
he displayed marked literary ability, and 
wrote with great fluency. When but six- 
teen he married ; and three years afterward, 
moved by a love of liberty, on hearing of 
the struggle in which the American Colonies 
were engaged, he resolved to leave wife, 
home and kindred, and draw his sword on the side of the oppressed. Here 
was a sacrifice at the shrine of human freedom ! — Young, noble, wealthy, the 
friend of princes, and the beloved of an adored and beautiful wife, he 
separated himself from all, and the advantages pertaining to his rank, to 
share the dangers and the fate of the brave handful of half-starved, half- 
naked patriots, who dared to stand up for the right in the face of one of the 
most powerful nations in the world. 

His freedom of action in this relation, however, was embarrassed, 
inasmuch as the king, who objected to his leaving France, ordered his arrest 
so as to prevent him carrying out his noble project. But here the French 
monarch was powerless, for the object of this persecution, having fitted out a 
ship at his own expense, escaped to it in disguise after untold privations, and 
after having once been recognized by a young girl who found him asleep on 
some straw, but who never once thought of betraying him. 

He had heard of the loss of New York and New Jersey to the Americans, 
but this only served to increase his desire to hasten to the relief of the latter. 
And so, although pursued by two French cruisers, and menaced by the 
English men of war on the coast, he escaped all dangers and landed safely 
on the shores of South Carolina. Here everything was novel and delightful 
to him, as he observed in a letter to his wife shortly after his arrival, and here 
he soon met Washington, for whom he formed an instant and abiding 
friendship, so impressed was he with the true nobility and commanding 
virtues of that great and mighty man. 

When Lafayette first saw the poorly armed, ragged and half-fed forces of 
America in line before him at Philadelphia, nothing could exceed his surprise. 



i825] THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 291 

But with a penetration beyond his years, he perceived in this stern, self, 
sacrificing and dogged array, all the elements of future success ; and this 
conviction often seemed to impart strength and hope to any whose spirits 
tended to droop beneath the weight of the reverses and great privations 
that pressed upon them. Washington also soon began to discover the true 
metal in the young Frenchman of nineteen, whose sword invariably leaped 
from its sheath at the word of command. Hence, when but twenty, he was 
made a Major-General. 

Lafayette's sufferings in our cause were severe, and his labors terrible. He 
was wounded at Brandywine, and lay for six weeks at Bethlehem, when, 
although scarcely able to move, he wrote letters constantly to France 
imploring its statesmen to attack England in India and the West Indies. 
Before his wounds were healed he rejoined the army. He performed in 
winter a journey on horseback of four hundred miles to Albany; he 
commanded at Rhode Island ; fought like a lion, and bore all the hardships 
and privations of war. After this he was seized with a violent fever, and 
seemed for weeks at the point of death. On his recovery he set sail for his 
native land, from Boston, in 1780. 

On returning to France, he was received with open arms by all the young 
nobles of liberal views, while the King pardoned him and sent him back to 
America with a promise of ships, money, clothes and men. Once again he 
rejoined Washington, who soon trusted him beyond all others. He now 
commanded in Virginia with skill and bravery against Cornwallis, and with 
his illustrious chief planned the campaign which resulted in the taking of 
Yorktown and the close of a long and painful war. 

After the surrender of Cornwallis, Lafayette returned to France once 
more, when the Revolution, prompted by the ideas and the success of the 
Americans, began to move in its tortuous grooves. He was now the favorite 
of the people, and was all powerful in the land, but in the shadow of his path 
crept the Marats, Dantons and Robespierres of the hour, while the armies of 
Europe lay in front of him, ready to crush his republican projects. He was 
overpowered and constrained to fly from France and seek shelter on foreign 
soil ; but instead of shelter, in a friendly sense, he found himself immured 
within the gloomy walls of Olmutz, where he remained for five years. For 
more than half that period he was cut off from all communication with the 
world ; and could not even learn whether his wife and children were still alive. 
At length his wife, who had barely escaped from the guillotine, joined him 
with her two daughters, and shared his imprisonment — their son having been 
sent to America to the care of Washington. Nor was it until the armies of 
France, under Napolean, began to shake Europe that they were released. 

He now became a leader in every move pertaining to the advancement of 
liberal government, and cultivated a large farm at La Grange, near Paris. 
On hearing of the death of Washington he wept bitterly; and in 1824-25, 
after an absence of forty years, he again visited America, but this time with 
his son. His reception was magnificent beyond measure — the gratitude of a 



292 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



[Ib25 



generous nation permeating it through and through. He visited once more, 
all the old historic places, and met many of his comrades in arms, with such 
intense emotion that it would be almost profanation to attempt to put it in 
words. On his return to France he still stood firm in the principles he had 
espoused and fought for; but the time of his departure was drawing nigh; 
for he breathed his last, in hope and in peace, at La Grange, in 1834, leaving 
behind him a character for all that was noble, self-sacrificing, courageous and 
just. His chateau at this place has been the shrine of many an American 
pilgrim, and it is still filled with reminiscences of the land he loved and aided 
so well. He left one son, George Washington, and two daughters. Edmund 
Lafayette, who visited America in 1881, is the son of that son, and the 
last of his name. The portrait which we give here of the illustrious Marquis, 
is from an engraving published by his family. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

HE election of 1824, resulted in no choice by the 

people, and for the second time the election of 

President was referred to the House of Representatives. 

They elected John Quincy Adams, the second son of 

Ex-President Adams, to be President. John C.Calhoun 

had been elected Vice President by the people. This 

administration was a quiet one and undisturbed by any 

very serious controversy. The trouble between the State of 

Georgia and the general government growing out of the claims 

for the land of the Creek Indians, and their removal, was 

peaceably adjusted. The National Government took the 

position of defenders of the Indians, and quietly removed them 

to their reservation in the territory set apart for them. 

A gigantic work of internal improvement for the times was 
undertaken and finished in the State of New York, the 
building of the Erie Canal. 

A remarkable coincidence occurred in the year 1826. John 
Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who had both been Vice Presidents and 
Presidents of the United States, died in old age on the 4th of July. 

The fiftieth anniversary of American Independence, July 4th, 1826, was 
made a jubilee through the entire Union. The celebrations were of the 
most patriotic nature, and reference was made in orations and addresses to 
the materal expansion of the Republic. Better occasion for a jubilee the world 
had never known. The point to pause and look back had come. The rapid 
growth of the nation was unparalleled in the history of the world. The 
thirteen States had become twenty-four, and the area of the country nearly 
doubled. She could look out upon the Atlantic on the east, and the Pacific 
on the west. Her right was undisputed from the lakes on the north, to 




1829] 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



293 



the gul^ on the south. Two wars had been fought and won. The debt we 
incurred in the first had been paid and the second war debt was fast 
disappearing. Prosperity was on every hand. Canals provided an avenue for 
the rich grain lands of the West to the seaboard by the way of the lakes and 
the Hudson. A steady tide of emigration westward, had opened up this 
boundless region to civilization, and the foreign trade of the country had 
swollen to two hundred millions per year. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

'HE hero of New Orleans was the seventh President 
of the United States, and John C. Calhoun was 
elected Vice President. The election was by a large 
majority. His inauguration was marked by incidents of 
peculiar interest. He came to the Senate Chamber 
escorted by a few survivors of the Revolutionary War, 
and in the presence of the heads of departments and 
the House of Congress, addressed them. Then he retired to 
the eastern portico of the Capitol and there received the oath 
of office. Andrew Jackson was a man of strong passions, 
uncorrupt heart, and an iron will. His instructions to the first 
Minister he sent to England is a type of the man. "Ask 
nothing but what is right, submit to nothing that is wrong." 
His audacity annoyed his friends and alarmed his foes. 
There were not any middle-men. His friends loved and admired 
him ; his opponents hated and feared him. He caused an 
impassable gulf between himself and his enemies which no 
charity could bridge over. He ruled with an iron hand and was the 
firm opponent of disunion and the United States Bank. The first thing 
which came up was the settlement of the Georgia question with the Cherokees. 
Jackson was in favor of Georgia, but the Supreme Court decided in favor 
of the Indians. 

At last General Winfield Scott was sent to rem.ove them peaceably if 
he could, but forcibly if he must. But General Scott by his justice and 
moderation accomplished his task without blood-shed. The Cherokees were 
far advanced in civilization, and had churches, schools and farms, but they 
were induced to move beyond the Mississippi. 

Jackson was an implacable foe to the National Bank. He attacked 
it in his annual message in 1830, and in 1831, when the officers 
petitioned for a renewal of the charter, and a bill for this purpose had 
been passed by both Houses with a decided majority, he vetoed it, 
and the charter expired by limitation in 1836. A commercial panic was 
threatened and business was injured. 

An Indian war on the northwestern frontier broke out in 1832, 
known as the Black Hawk War, but was quickly subdued. A more 




294 THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. [1837 

portentous war cloud overhung the South. The cotton-growing States 
were opposed to a protective tariff which favored the North, and South 
Carolina declared by law that the national tariff laws were null and void 
within that State, and proclaimed the usual threat, that any attempt to 
enforce those laws in Charleston, would be met by opposition and the 
withdrawal of the State from the Union. Preparations were made for 
war, and it seemed as if civil strife was at hand. Jackson issued his famous 
proclamation which denied the right of any State to nullify the laws of the 
United States, and declared that the laws should be enforced, and any one 
obstructing them would be guilty of treason and punished. Then South 
Carolina came to its senses, and rescinded their acts, and the civil war was 
deferred for a time. 

The contest of the President with the United States bank was renewed. 
The public funds were removed and placed in State banks. The amount of 
paper discounted by the bank was contracted, and much financial trouble 
arose. Jackson's fear of the moneyed power of the banks was prompted by 
much foresight and wisdom, though the immediate result of his course was 
disastrous to the commercial interests of the country. Then came the 
fearful business panic of 1833-34, in which hundreds of business men went 
down, never to rise. 

There arose serious difficulty in 1835, with the Indians in Florida. The 
United States had set apart a territory west of the Mississippi for the use of 
all the Indians east of that river, and Congress had provided for their 
removal to that territory. We have seen that there was trouble with the 
Creeks and Cherokees in Georgia upon this question, and now the Seminole 
tribe were in open war in reference to the same matter. Osceola, a brave but 
crafty chief, had gathered his tribe to fight the whites and contest the right 
to his land. We cannot see how he could do otherwise than defend the 
graves of his fathers and the homes of his children. The story of the 
Indians' wrongs and sufferings is a dark one on the pages of our history. 
General Scott was sent to prosecute the war, and he pushed it with vigor 
until the Indians were nearly exterminated, and the remainder forced to 
submit. A war lasting seven years and costing millions of treasure and 
thousands of lives was entailed upon the country and the incoming 
administration. Jackson's administration was marked with vigor and 
decision. He had compelled France to fulfill her promise to pay an 
indemnity of five million dollars in annual instalments for the losses 
sustained to American commerce by the decrees and orders of Napoleon. 

A great excitement was engendered by the last official act of President 
Jackson. The issue of the circular to all the custom houses ordering that 
all collectors of revenue be required to collect duties only in gold and silver. 
This special circular was denounced as arbitrary and tyrannical, as It bore 
heavily on every kind of business. Congress passed a law for its repeal but 
the President kept it without signing until after the final adjournment of 
Congress. Jackson did this to prevent speculation and for what he 



i84ij 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



295 



considered wise reasons, but it caused a bitter feeling against him. Arkansas 
and Michigan were added to the Union during Jackson's term of ofifice. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 

'HE inauguration of the eighth President of the United 
States seemed to mark the dawn of a new era in its his- 
tory. The Presidents prior to him had all been descend- 
ants of the English, but^ Martin Van Buren was a de- 
scendant of an old Dutch family and was born after 
the American conflict. When he was inaugurated he 
found the country on the verge of a disastrous com- 
mercial panic which swept all over the land. The immediate 
measures for the relief of the panic of 1833-34 was only tem- 
porary. The funds taken from the United States Bank and 
lodged in State banks were loaned upon, and for a little time 
the relief was felt in business circles, but this only sowed the 
seeds of a commercial disorder which would bring its fearful 
harvest in the future. The banks, thinking these funds might 
be regarded as so much capital, loaned money freely and a 
, , sudden expansion of the currency was the result. In January 
& the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to distribute 
all the funds of the United States among the several States in propor- 
tion to population reserving five million dollars. Consequently they were 
withdrawn from the banks January ist, 1837, and an immense financial 
pressure was the immediate result. May loth the banks suspended specie 
payment and a panic ensued which prostrated all kinds of business. An 
extra session of Congress was called to afford relief, September, 1837. They 
issued treasury notes to the amount of ten million dollars. A disturbance 
broke out in Canada in 1837 which threatened to involve the United 
States. An attempt was made to establish this province into an indepen- 
dent State and the laws of neutrality were violated by those in the States who 
sympathized with the movement. A secret organization known as Hunting 
Lodges was formed. The British government held the United States respon- 
sible for this breach of neutrality, and the war cloud overhung the northern 
border for about four years. The next election resulted in the elevation of 
the whig candidcitc, William H. Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, to the 
Presidency. The campaign had been spirited and intense. The battle cry 
of this party had been " Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Personal abuse and 
vituperation united to make the canvass scandalous and offensive. 




296 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



[1841 





ADMINISTRATION OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 

ENERAL WILLIAM H. HARRISON was an old 

man when inaugurated and had passed through many 
hardships in the Indian wars, but he was vigorous and 
active with the prospect of a number of years of Hfe. 
His inaugural address was well received and his cabinet 
chosen and confirmed. The only ofificial act he per- 
formed was to call an extra session of Congress to meet 
^^^^ in May to confer upon the financial condition of the country and 
^y its revenue. He died just one month after taking the oath of 
office — April 4th, 1841, and the Vice President, John Tyler, 
succeeded to that position. Mr. Tyler retained the cabinet of 
General Harrison until after the extra session of Congress which 
had been called. At this session measures for the relief of the 
3"^ commercial troubles of the country were adopted. The sub- 
treasury act was repealed and a bankrupt law was passed. The 
chartering of a Bank of the United States was defeated by the veto of the 
President, who like Jackson saw great danger in the system. This led to a 
violent censure of the Executive by his own party, and to the resignation of 
his Cabinet. In 1842 the return of the United States Exploring Expedition 
from the Atlantic Ocean, the settlement of the boundary line on the north- 
east frontier of Maine, the re-modifying of the tariff and the domestic difficul- 
ties in Rhode Island, were events of public interest. A tariff for revenue 
only was adopted. The boundary line of Maine was fixed by the Webster- 
Ashburton treaty, giving the United States jurisdiction over a large 
part of the disputed territory. Rhode Island had some difficulty in 
forming a State Constitution which divided the citizens into two parties, the 
"suffrage" and the "law and order" party. The threatened rupture caused 
the governor to invoke the aid of the general government, and the adminis- 
tration favored the " law and order " party, which resulted in the adoption 
of a constitution in November, 1842. The old charter from England had 
been in force up to this time but the new constitution, more in accord with 
the system of government in the other States, went into effect the first 
Tuesday in May, 1843. 

Texas was an independent State, and was seeking admission to the 
Union, but on account of the introduction of slavery into its constitution 
there was strong opposition to it in the North. A treaty for its admission 
was signed April 12th, 1844, but was rejected by the Senate. The subject then 
came up in the form of a joint resolution, which passed both Houses of Con- 
gress March 1st, 1845, •'^nd was signed by Mr. Tyler. This question had 
entered into the election of 1844, ^nd James K. Polk, one of the candidates 
for President, who was pledged to the measure, was elected by a decided 
majority. The last official act of Mr. Tyler was to sign the bills for the 
ad.^.Mssion of Florida and Iowa into the family of States, March 3rd, 1845. 



1845] 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



297 




ADMINISTRATION OF POLK, AND MEXICAN WAR. 

'HE absorbing matters which demanded the immediate 
attention of the new administration was the annexation 
of Texas, and the settlement of the northwest 
boundary on the northern Hne of Oregon. President 
Tyler had sent a messenger to the Texan government 
informing them of the action of Congress, and a 
convention was called to accept the measure. They 
adopted the State Constitution July 4th, 1845, ^nd the Lone 
Star was added to the American constellation. The other 
question received [immediate attention. A vast territory 
between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, had 
been in dispute between England and the United States. In 
1 8 18 they had agreed to occupy the bays, harbors and rivers 
in common. This was renewed in 1827 for an indefinite period, 
with the promise that either government might rescind on 
giving a year's notice to the other. The United States gave 
such notice in 1846. The United States and Great Britain 
each claimed the whole territory to 54 degrees and 40 minutes north latitude, 
and the cry was " 54-40 or fight," but at last a peaceful settlement was 
agreed upon on the 49th parallel of north latitude. The annexation of 
Texas as had been predicted, caused a rupture between the United States 
and Mexico. The latter government still claimed the right to Texas 
although it had been acknowledged to be an independent State by the 
United States, England, France and other governments. The Mexican 
Minister at Washington demanded his pass-ports, and on June 4th, 1845, the 
President of Mexico issued his proclamation, declaring his intention to 
appeal to arms. The United States had also other questions to settle with 
that Republic, growing out of her treatment of United States' citizens. The 
American army was sent to the extreme southeastern confines of Texas, and 
erected a fortification within easy range of the city of Matamoras. General 
Zachary Taylor, was sent by the President to take command of the forces 
there. " An army of occupation" was organized and entered the territory of 
Mexico. The first blood was shed at Fort Brown, which the Mexicans 
cannonaded and attacked with a superior force after General Taylor had been 
ordered by the Secretary of War to advance on Corpus Christi. The 
Commander, Major Brown was mortally wounded, and a signal was given for 
General Taylor to return. He met and overcame an army of six thousand 
Mexicans under Arista, at Palo Alto, and hastened toward Fort Brown. The 
next day he overtook and conquered a strongly fortified army at a place 
called Resaca de la Palma, a number of prisoners were taken and the army 
of Northern Mexico was completely broken up. These two battles were 
fought on the 7th and the 9th of May. When the news of this first blood- 



298 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



[r84: 



shed reached New Orleans the land was aroused. Congress had declared, 
" by the act of the Republic of Mexico a state of war exists between the 
United States and that government," and authorized the Executive to raise 
an army of fifty thousand volunteers, and appropriated ten -million dollars 
toward defraying the expenses of the war. The war with Mexico was a 
series of victories for the United States. The Mexicans were driven out of 
Matamoras May 18th. Monterey was besieged September, 21st, and 
surrendered September 24th, an armistice was then taken until November 13th. 
Saltillo the capital of Cohahuila was captured November 15th. Santa Anna 

the Mexican General 
surrendered T a mpico 
the day before, Novem- 
ber 14th. All these 
victories were gained 
by General Taylor, 
wh o had been in 
command; but now 
there came a severe tri- 
al of his patriotism 
and patience. General 
Winfield Scott, who 
superseded him in rank, 
was sent to take com- 
mand in Mexico, and 
General Taylor was 
left with a command 
of only five hundred 
regulars and five 
thousand volunteers. 
February 22d, the anni, 
versary of the birth of 
Washington, the little 
band of General Taylor was attacked by twenty thousand Mexicans, who, 
after a severe battle, were repulsed by the Americans. 

While these victories were being gained in Central Mexico. " The 
army of the West" was sent under command of General Kearney, to 
Northern Mexico. This army took possession of Santa Fe, the capital of 
New Mexico, August i8th ; here he received information that the conquest of 
California had already been achieved by Commodore Stockton and Lieutenant 
Colonel Fremont, who had aroused the resident Americans on the Pacific 
coast and captured Sonoma Pass, June 15th, 1846, and driven all the 
Mexicans out of that region July, 5th. On the 7th Monterey had been 
bombarded and captured. The Commodore and Lieutenant-Colonel had 
entered San Francisco on the 9th. The city of Los Angeles had surrendered 
on the 17th, and Fremont had been the true liberator of the whole Pacific 




SANTA ANNA. 



i849] THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 299 

coast. General Kearney on receiving this information pushed on his forces, 
and met Commodore Stockton, and Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, December 
27th, 1846, and with them shared the final honors which completed the 
conquest of California. Fremont wanted to be governor of the territory he 
had conquered, and his claims were favored by Commodore Stockton and all 
the people, but General Kearney, his superior, refused to allow it. Fremont 
would not obey him but issued a proclamation as governor. Fremont was 
called home to be tried for disobedience of orders. His commission was 
taken from him, but the President offered to return it the next day, 
Fremont refused to accept it, and turned again to the wilderness to engage 
in exploration. 

While General Kearney was gone to California, Colonel Doniphan with 
one thousand Missouri volunteers, forced the Navajo Indians to sign a treaty 
of peace, November, 1846, and then led his troops southward to join 
General Wool. He met and overcame a large force of Mexicans at Baciti, 
in the valley of the Rio del Norte, on December 22d. The Mexican 
General sent word to him, " We will neither ask nor give quarter." With a 
black flag the Mexicans advanced, and the Missourians fell on their faces. 
The savages thinking them all killed rushed forward to plunder them, but the 
whole force sprang to their feet and fired with such deadly effect as to 
disperse the Mexicans with great slaughter. Colonel Doniphan met another 
force of Mexicans, four thousand strong, on February 28th, 1847, and 
completely routed them. He raised the American flag over Chihuahua, a 
city of forty thousand inhabitants, March 2d, and after resting six weeks 
marched to Saltillo, and turned over his command to General Wool. He had 
made a perilous march of five thousand miles, from the Mississippi, won two 
great battles, and then returned to New Orleans. All Northern Mexico and 
California were now in possession of the Americans, and General Winfield 
Scott was on his way to the city of Mexico. 

General Scott landed before Vera Cruz with an army of thirteen 
thousand, March 9th, 1847. The squadron was in command of Commodore 
Connor. The city was invested March 13th, and held out until the 27th, 
when the Americans took possession of Vera Cruz, and captured live thousand 
prisoners and five hundred guns. Ten days after this. General Scott 
commenced his march inland, and on the i8th of April he fought and won 
the battle of Cerro Gordo, at the foot of the Cordilleras. More than a 
thousand Mexicans were killed and three thousand taken prisoners. These 
Scott dismissed on parole, which they at once violated. The victorious army 
entered the city of Jalapa on the i8th, and on the 22d of April, General 
Worth unfurled the Stars and Stripes on the summit of the Cordilleras, fifty 
miles beyond the city of Jalapa. But the victorious army did not halt here. 
They marched forward, and on the 15th of May, 1847, took possession of the 
well fortified city of Puebla, containing eighty thousand inhabitants. Here 
they halted to rest for a while. In the short space of two months an army of 
ten thousand men liad captured a larger number of prisoners than the army 



300 THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. [1845 

itself, taken possession of the strongest points on the continent, and were 
waiting for the order " on to Mexico." In August, after being reinforced by 
fresh troops, Scott resumed his triumphal march to new victories. August 
20th, the camp of six thousand Mexicans at Contreras was defeated by the 
Americans in a detachment under General Smith. Churubusco was taken at 
the same time by General Scott. An army thirty thousand strong, in the 
heart of its own country, had been broken up by one less than a third of that 
number. The American army were at the very gates of the city of Mexico 
and might have entered in triumph, but General Scott held out the olive 
branch of peace and would have spared the Mexicans that disgrace. A flag 
of truce from Santa Anna came asking for an armistice, which was granted. 
Mr. Nicholas P. Twist, a commissioner of peace, appointed by the United 
States, was sent to the city to treat with Santa Anna, but returned with the 
information that he had not only rejected the ofTcr with scorn, but was 
violating the armistice by strengthening his defenses. 

General Scott began his demonstration against the city, September 8th, 

when a body of less than four thousand troops attacked a superior force at 

El Molinos del Rey, near Chapultepec, and at first suffered the only repulse 

of the war, but afterwards rallied and drove the Mexicans before them. On 

the morning of the 13th of September, the flag of the United States was 

unfurled over the ruined castle of Chapultepec, and Santa Anna was fleeing a 

fugitive with his shattered army and the officers of government. September 

14th, the army of the United States entered the city of Mexico in triumph, 

and planted the Stars and Stripes over the National Palace. Order was soon 

restored in that ancient capital, and when a provisional government could be 

formed, peace was declared. Mexico gave up California, Arizona and New 

Mexico, and conceded to all the claims of the United States. Mexico was 

evacuated by the American army, and twelve million dollars were paid by the 

United States to Mexico in four annual instalments, and the United States 

also assumed the debts due to private citizens to the amount of three 

millions. This treaty was signed in February 2d, 1848. The very next 

month gold was discovered in large quantities in California, and President 

Polk in his annual message, in December, 1848, published the fact to the 

world. The gold fever broke out all over the States, and spread to other 

countries, and during the whole year of 1849 ^ constant stream of emigration 

flowing across the plains and around Cape Horn, came to this Eldorado of 

the West to find the wealth which the early Spanish and French adventurers 

had sought in vain. Thousands came from Europe and South America, and 

ship-loads of Chinese came from Asia. The dreams of the voyagers who 

came to Salvador and Florida, in the fifteenth century, seemed to be realized 

in the nineteenth. Emigrants continued to flock thither, and yet (1882) the 

supply is not exhausted. 

The popularity which General Taylor had acquired in the Mexican war 
by his victories and his patriotism, led to his nomination and election to the 
Presidency, with Millard I'illmore as Vice President. 



1 849] 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 



301 



Two domestic measures during the administration of James K. Polk had 
been very popular. The establishment of a national treasury system, and a 
protective tariff. Wisconsin was admitted to the Union, May 29th, 1848, 
making thirty States in all. At this point we will stop for a while to review 
the dark question of American history, and tell the story of its wrongs. 




The Hero of The Mexican War, General Winfield Scott. 




Tl PERIOD OF AGITATION 

AND THE DARK CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 



E have brought our readers down the line of events to 
the time the twelfth President was about to take his 
seat of office. We have seen the continent redeemed 
from its savage inhabitants and settled with an active, 
energetic population of freemen who had acquired 
their independence, subdued the wilderness, devel- 
oped its resources, spread their white-winged com- 
merce on every sea, explored their own territory and made discov- 
eries in other parts of the world, driven the pirates from their own 
borders and humbled the pirates in the Mediterranean, compelled 
the respect due their flag from other nations and established their 
widest boundaries by peaceful diplomacy or glorious war. They had 
grown from thirteen States to thirty and their domain now stretched 
in one broad belt from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the 
lakes to the gulf, with no nation to challenge their right. They were 
prosperous at home and respected abroad. The industry, intelligence and 
enterprise of her citizens are unparalleled, and their inventions, discoveries 
and mechanical arts were astonishing to the inhabitants of the old world. 
The inventors and discoverers of the United States had revolutionized the 
commerce, the manufactures and the travel of the past. The steamboat, 
the electric telegraph, the cotton gin and the inventions in every department 
of trade had startled the inhabitants of Europe from their dream of centuries. 
But in spite of the growth in material strength, in national domain and wealth 
there was a dark blot upon the country, and the agitation and strife which it 
was continually causing, gave reasons for constant alarm to our wisest and 
best statesmen. How to deal with this dark subject was a serious question 
to the moralist, the patriot and the philanthropist. That question was the 
fearful presence of American slavery and its insatiate demand for more 
territory. To go back to the beginning : England had forced the African 
slave trade upon the unwilling colonists, and her Parliament had watched 
with fostering care this hideous traffic. In the first half of the eighteenth 
century there was constant legislation in its favor, and every restraint upon 
its largest development was removed with solicitous regard. Twenty negro 
slaves were sold to the planters of Virginia in the same year the pilgrims 
landed at Plymouth, 1620, and these were the first brought into America. 
In December, 1671, Sir John Yeamans, Governor of South Carolina, brought 
two hundred black slaves with him from the West Indies. In 1641, the 
blacks were recognized in law as slaves by Massachusetts. In Connecticut 



i85o] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 303 

and Rhode Island in 1650; in New York in 1656; in Maryland in 1663, and 
in New Jersey in 1665. There were some slaves in Pennsylvania and 
Delaware about 1690. In North and South Carolina, they were introduced 
at the time of settlement. In Georgia the use of slaves was prohibited by 
law but the planters evaded the law by hiring servants for one hundred 
years, paying their owners in the other colonies the value of such slaves. In 
New Hampshire the slaves came with the settlers from Massachusetts. So 
we see that slavery could be found, under the sanction of law, in every one 
of the original thirteen States, at the opening of the eighteenth century. 
The British government seemed determined to encourage the importa- 
tion of slaves into the West Indies and American Colonies by every means 
in her power. The Colonies sought to check the increase by imposing a 
tax on slaves brought into them, but Parliament compelled its repeal. 
A hundred acres of land in the West Indies was given to every planter who 
would keep four slaves. Forts were built and manned on the African coast to 
protect the men who were engaged in this trafilic. The most humiliating 
chapter in the history of England was in regard to this subject. As late as 
the year 1749, the English Parliament passed an act bestowing still greater 
encouragement upon the traffic, in which it was stated : " The slave-trade is 
very advantageous to Great Britain." 

The moral sense of New England was opposed to slavery and very early 
the idea became prevalent there that it was unscriptural to hold a baptized 
person in slavery. They did not however liberate their slaves, but withheld 
religious instruction from them. The Bishops of the church and the officers 
of the crown endeavored to put them right on this question, and the Colonial 
Assemblies passed laws to reassure the people that it was right to hold 
Christians in slavery. 

Before the Revolution three hundred thousand slaves had been brought 
into the Colonies from Africa, and at that time there were half a million 
slaves scattered over the country. These were in every Colony, although 
there were but thirty thousand in the North. The children of the Puritans 
owned Indians, and in due time came to hold Africans, but the soil was hard 
and sterile and required that the tiller should be a person of thought and 
intelligence. All kinds of labor demanded brain as well as physical force 
and for this reason slave labor in the North was never remunerative, and 
gradually the slaves all died out or were shipped South. The moral senti- 
ment as well as the conditions of the soil and climate of the North was 
opposed to the whole system of human servitude. 

There were different conditions in the fertile and sunny South. The 
climate was congenial to the African and the soil was productive to the 
extreme of luxuriance. The crops were such as the unskilled labor of the 
slave could produce with profit to his master, tobacco, cotton and rice. The 
land in the South was divided into large plantations and the cities were 
mostly engaged in the export of their staple products. Yet for all this, at 
the time of the Revolution there was a very wide spread opposition to the 



304 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1620 

institution of slavery. The free spirit which influenced the patriots was 
antagonistic to the whole idea of human bondage. The leaders of the 
conflict were many of them slaveholders but they regarded the institution as 
odious and wrong. 

Washington provided in his will for the freedom of his slaves. Hamilton 
was the member of a society which aimed at the gradual abolition of the 
whole system. John Adams was deadly opposed to it. Patrick Henry, 
Franklin, Madison and Monroe, were outspoken against it. Jefferson, the 
man who wrote the first draft of the Constitution, himself a Virginian, said of 
it, " I tremble for my country when I remember that God is just." When 
the convention that met to frame the Constitution assembled in Philadelphia, 
the feeling was strong against slavery, and had the majority followed their 
own conviction of right, a provision would have been incorporated for its 
gradual and final extinction. But the desire to frame a document that would 
be acceptable to all the • States led to a tender treatment of the subject, and 
finally to one of these unholy compromises which has marked the whole 
course of legislation upon the subject for more than eighty years, and in time 
resulted in the most cruel and bloody internal war which has ever come to 
any nation. It was proposed to prohibit the importation of slaves at once, 
and all the Northern and most of the Southern members were in favor of it. 
But the delegates of South Carolina and Georgia threatened to withdraw 
from the convention if this was done ; and instead, it was provided that 
Congress might abolish the traffic after twenty years if she saw fit. 

Using the same threat of disunion, the slave States of the extreme 
South gained other concessions of great importance. First, that if a person 
escaped from a slave State to a free State that did not make him free ; and 
second that in the apportionment for representatives to Congress the 
population of white citizens should be taken and to this should be added 
three fifths of all other persons excluding Indians not taxed. While the 
words slave and slavery are not to be found in the Constitution, by these 
unrighteous concessions to the extreme slave States, the vile institution was 
intrenched within the organic law of the land and the first and most 
important victory was gained for the monstrous evil. 

Even in the South there was a strong public sentiment against the 
wrong. Slave owners acknowledged its evil and freely discussed it. The 
pulpit preached against it, and men prophesied its extinction, and the 
meanest black might hope that the time would come when the words of the 
Declaration of Independence would apply to him. 

The accession of the vast domain of Louisiana from France, opened up a 
mighty region to the profitable cultivation of sugar cane and cotton by slave 
labor. The growth of cotton was becoming a matter of great importance. 
The invention of the spinning jenny by Richard Arkwright in England, in 
1768, followed by the introduction of steam power by James Watts had 
created an extensive demand for cotton, which Great Britain could only find 
tn sufficient quantity and proper quality in the Soutlfern States of the 



i85o] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 305 

American Union. EH Whitney, a New England farmer's son, was a born 
mechanic. In 1792, he was on a visit to the home of Mrs. Greene, in the 
State of Georgia, and heard of the trouble which surrounded the cotton 
planters in separating the fibers of the cotton from the seed, and the wish 
that some device would be invented to overcome this. Young Whitney set 
his inventive genius at work to construct a machine for this purpose, and 
after much study, many improvements, and oft repeated failures, finally 
invented the cotton gin. The planters of Georgia saw in the rudely 
constructed machine exhibited to them in the back room of Mrs. Greene's 
residence the possibilities of untold wealth for them, and heeded it as a sign 
of their deliverance from this trouble. The cotton gin made the growing of 
cotton vastly more remunerative than ever before. But the South treated 
the brain work of the " Yankee mudsill " the same as they did the toil of the 
poor African. They stole it without paying for it, and the inventor of the 
instrument which gave the cotton growing States their supremacy in the 
markets of the world, and brought a constant flow of wealth to their doors, 
died a poor man. To return from this digression. Ten years after 
Whitney's cotton gin had been invented, Louisiana was added to the United 
States, and there was a great demand for slaves. The northern tier of slave 
States began to grow slaves for the southern market. Human beings were 
bred and used like cattle to be sold. Great God ! how could such things be 
in a country that boasted of freedom, and claimed to be a beacon to the 
oppressed in all nations? John C. Calhoun, for eight years Vice President of 
the United States, was the leader and apostle of the slave holders. He was 
a South Carolinian of great force and eloquence. He taught the people that 
slavery was good for the black. It was a civilizing and benign institution, 
which gave the slave a greater measure of intelligence than he could attain 
in freedom, and surrounded him with Christianizing influences which he never 
would have had in his native land. The inference was easily drawn that it 
was a Providential design for the advancement of both races. Hence 
opposition to this heaven-appointed institution was profane, and abolitionism 
was only a species of infidelity running rank in the North. This Calhoun 
taught ; and the people were eager to catch upon an excuse for their pet 
institution. Calhoun's last utterance in Congress was to the effect that the 
opposition to slavery would result in the destruction of the Union, and his 
latest conversation was upon the all-absorbing topic. The people of the 
South were taught from pulpit and press, from the rostrum, and in- the 
schools, that it was a divine institution, ordained of Heaven, and they were 
willing enough to believe it. Laws were passed which were extremely 
barbarous. The slave was regarded not as a person, but a thing. He had 
no rights. The most holy ordinance of marriage, was set aside at the will of 
the master. Parents had no claim on the offspring of their own bodies. The 
child followed the condition of its mother no matter what that of the father 
might be. It was a statutory offense to teach a slave to read. The life of 
the slave was in the hand of his master, and a slave who would not submit to 



3o6 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1620 

a flogging by his master's order, might be shot. If a white man killed a 
slave, not hi.-; own, he could settle with the master of the slave, by paying 
his value. If a slave killed a white man, he might be shot without trial. 
No black, bond or free, could give testimony in court. There was a very 
slender show of protecting the right of the slave. The practice of the slave 
owners was not better than their laws. Families were separated ; husbands 
from wives ; and children from parents. And the men and women were 
compelled to pair as often, and with whom their masters wished. The 
hunting of fugitive slaves became a business in which trained bloodhounds 
were used, and the owners of the slaves paying for those returned. 
Discussions against slavery were not permitted in the slave States ; and no 
papers, pamphlets, or books opposing the institution were allowed to find sale 
or to pass through the mails. To such an extreme of madness had the 
defenders and upholders of the system gone that many northern men were 
subjected to the most cruel indignities, and even in numerous instances to 
death. Shipmasters from northern ports were obliged to submit to seizure 
and search — the very thing for which the country had gone to war with 
England in 1812. Mobs were raised and the North denounced. 

We do not wish to tear open the old wounds, but are writing sober 
history which is proven by the records of the past. There were good masters 
and Christian principles taught in many instances. The blacks under sue") 
conditions were contented and happy, but the death of their owner and tlu- 
settlement of his estate might change all this in a day. The whole system 
was evil, and the stifled conscience of the enlightened people knew it to be 
so. 

When the State of Louisiana was admitted into the Union, in 1812, the 
vast northern part of the purchase from France was left in a territory without 
inhabitants. This was rich in natural resources. Iron, copper and coal enough 
to supply the earth, lay beneath its surface. Large rivers flowed in natural 
highways to the seas. The climate was genial and mild. Gradually settlers 
came flocking thither. The slave-holder with his human chattels was the first 
in the field, and the free settler turned aside to the northwest, from which 
slavery had been excluded by the act of the Continental Congress. So 
Missouri became a slave State. In 1818, there were sixty thousand persons 
in the Territory of Missouri, and she was knocking at the doors of Congress 
for admission. The slave States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and 
Mississippi, had been admitted before this without any controversy, but now 
the slave power was becoming too aggressive and reaching far to the north. 
The first great contest between the North and the South was fought over this 
question. For more than two years the conflict waged, and after a desperate 
fight in the Halls of Congress and before the people, resulted in the 
compromise measure. There had been heated debates which had agitated 
the whole country from Maine to Louisiana. The compromise was that 
slavery should be allowed in all States south of 36 degrees, 30 minutes north 
latitude, and excluded from all States and territories north of that latitude. 



i85o] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 307 

This conflict ended with a decided victory for the slave power. The cotton 
gin, the admission of Louisiana, and the teaching of Calhoun, had all had 
their effect in making the South a unit, and the slave power very strong in the 
nation. The institution required more territo.ry for its expansion. And the 
policy never changed. The agitation which had begun would rage over the 
country for fifty years, and find its solution only when the institution lay in 
ruins at the fall of a gigantic struggle inaugurated to uphold it by an 
attempted dissolution of the Union. Indeed this was the threat all through the 
controversy that had led to the compromises which were always in favor of 
the slave power. 

The active hostility of the North against slavery, began to grow in the 
time of John Quincy Adams (1825-1829). General Andrew Jackson was 
President from 1829 to 1837 ; during a part of the same time, John C. Calhoun 
was Vice President. This question was the overshadowing one for this 
period. The South found a faithful ally in a certain class at the North. 
People in the North participated in gains from the slave trade in the South. 
The planter borrowed money in the North, and sold his cotton to the Northern 
manufacturer, and Northern ships were engaged in the cotton conveying 
trade. They were coining money out of the peculiar institution and no 
scruples of conscience about it. There was a wide spread opinion that the 
slave of the South was in better condition than the poorly paid laborer of 
Europe ; and that was all that could be asked. It was claimed that cotton 
could not be grown without slave labor. And thus the institution, intrenched 
in the constitution, became united in the South, and had its friends in the 
North. There seemed no hope for the poor black now, and the South began 
to rule in Congress with the same spirit that was displayed on the plantation* 
But there was an influence at work in the free States, at first weak and 
insignificant, but like the leaven hidden in the three measures of meal, 
affecting the whole mass. 

On the first day of January 1831, there appeared in Boston the first 
number of a paper, called the " Emancipator," published by a journeyman 
printer, William Lloyd Garrison. It was devoted to the abolition of slavery. 
It was an insignificant opening for a noble enterprise, which found its 
consummation in the necessity of a civil war that threatened the very existence 
of the Republic. But every word spoken or written upon the subject found 
some willing hearer or ready reader, and gradually the influence reached the 
pulpit, the political caucus, and the Halls of Congress. An abolition society 
was formed at first composed of twelve members. In three years there were 
two hundred such organized, and iri seven years increased to over two 
thousand anti-slavery societies. The contest began in earnest. The conflict 
was long and fiercely waged. 

The question of the tariff had its northern and southern side, and when 
the nullifiers of South Carolina, in 1833 and '34, resisted the government, it 
was in the interest of their cherished institution, and in every measure that 
came before the National Congress the decision turned upon its aspect to the 



3o8 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1620 

same question. There is another side to the annexation of Texas into the 
Union than the one we have presented. Texas was a large uninhabited tract 
on the southwest border of the country, and the South looked upon it as a 
desirable region for the spread of slavery. The climate was genial and the 
soil rich. It was of uncertain ownership, and after some negotiation it was 
recognized as belonging to Mexico. The United States offered to purchase 
it but Mexico refused to sell it. General Samuel Houston, of Virginia, with 
a number of adventurers from the southwest went to Texas and started a 
revolution, proclaimed a provisional government, and declared it independent. 
It was wanted for a slave State and Mexico had abolished slavery. Now the 
liberties of the new State must be defended with the sword, and General 
Samuel Houston with four hundred men imperfectly armed and equipped, at 
once became a patriot. Santa Anna had an army of five thousand men, and 
the Texans retreated. At San Jacinto Houston found two field pieces and 
turned like a lion upon his pursuer. He then followed and fell upon the 
unsuspecting Santa Anna as he was crossing the river, and poured grape and 
canister into his ranks. The Mexicans fled in hopeless rout, and Texas was a 
free State. The grateful Texans made Houston President of the Republic 
which he had thus saved. The independence of Texas, as we have said was 
acknowledged by the United States, Great Britain, France, and some other 
European countries, but Mexico still claimed the territory. A fierce debate 
arose in Congress, and the first proposal from Texas to enter the Union was 
rejected. The conflict became bitter. If Texas was admitted she would come 
as a slave State ; on this ground the North opposed it, and the South favored 
it. Daniel Webster said, " We all sec that Texas will be a slave-holding State, 
and I frankly avow my unwillingness to do anything which shall extend the 
slavery of the African race on this continent, or add another slave-holding 
State to the Union." The Legislature of Mississippi said in resolutions oa 
the subject, "The South does not possess a blessing with which the affections 
of her people are so closely entwined, and whose value is more highly 
appreciated. By the annexation of Texas, an equipoise of influence in the 
Halls of Congress will be secured which will furnish us a permanent guarantee 
of protection." Such was the plain statement of the question from both 
sides. The matter went to the people and resulted in a victory for the South. 
Texas was admitted, two votes for slavery were gained in the Senate, and 
unlimited room for the expansion of the darling institution. But the victory 
cost a war with a sister Republic, in which might was arrayed against right, 
and the United States won the questionable glory of conquering a weaker 
power and dismembering her territory to a vast extent. In this Mexican war 
we find the names of many men who won their first military honors in the 
"country under the sun," and afterwards took a conspicuous place in 
history. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant took part in this war; but 
never met face to face until many years after, when they had a conference 
Under an historic apple tree, on the Appomatox River, in Virginia, to 
arrange for the surrender of a brave but conquered army. General Franklin 



t85o] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 309 

Pierce, and General Zachary Taylor were also in the Mexican war, and became 
Presidents of the United States. There was a strong opposition to this war 
and in the North the public opinion was instantly aroused in regard to the 
demands of the arrogant slave power. A young lawyer from Illinois, serving 
his first term in Congress, made a most stirring speech against it. He was 
Abraham Lincoln, who was destined to occupy a position next to Washington 
in the hearts of his countrymen. 

Thus far in the conflict of agitation and argument the South had 
gained at every move and in their delirium of madness considered them- 
selves safe to demand that their institution should be considered a national 
one. But there came other agencies into the field and the very war v:hich 
had been waged in Mexico became under Providence the means of checking 
their supremacy and putting an end to the acquirement of any more 
slave States. Of the original thirteen States, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, were slave-holding. Kentucky, 
Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, and 
Texas had been added to their number. But now there was to be a halt 
and the voice of Providence seemed to say " thus far shalt thou come and 
no further, and here shall thy proud waters be stayed." The discovery of 
gold, and the rapid increase of population in California made up of men who 
came to carve out their fortunes, was unfavorable to the introduction of 
slavery and the people formed their Constitution and asked admission as a 
free State. This was a greivous disappointment to the slave States which 
had been so enthusiastic in pressing on the Mexican war, for the sake of 
gaining new States and new votes in the United States Senate, and a large 
area for the spread of slavery. The people from the North had flocked to the 
Pacific Coast and quickly decided the fate of the first State formed on 
that coast. 

But we will now resume the line of general history at the end of Mr. 
Polk's administration. General Zachary Taylor, who had been conspicuous 
for his bravery and patriotism in the war with Mexico was elected to the 
Presidency by a large majority, as we have said. 




3IO 



THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 



[1849 



ADMINISTRATION OF ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

HE twelfth President of the United States was inaugu- 
rated March 5th, 1849 — the 4th, being Sunday — and 
from the start had the sympathies and best wishes of 
a large majority of the people. The administration 
of the newly inaugurated incumbent promised to be 
one of unusual happiness and prosperity. 

The Constitution framed by the delegates of 
p" California at Monterey, was adopted by the convention on the 
p* first day of September, 1849. ^^^Q birth and formation of a 
3- crude State had been so sudden as to surprise the country, 
j3* having been only twenty months from the time of the discovery 
?' of gold. Edward Gilbert, and G. H. Wright, were sent as dcle- 
^ gates to Congress and John C. Fremont, and William M. Gunn, 
m^ were elected Senators and appeared at Washington with the 





State Constitution in their hands, and presented a petition 
asking to be received as a free and independent State. Then, 
there came a severe struggle in the two Houses of Congress 
over the anti-slavery clause, and the excitement ran high all over the country. 
The old and oft-repeated threat of disunion was raised and again another 
compromise was efTected in which the victory was on the side of the South. 
Henry Clay appeared as a peacemaker and implored the people to make 
any sacrifice but honor to preserve the Union. Daniel Webster warmly 
seconded the efforts of Mr. Clay and the compromise measure was passed 
September 9th, 1850. This is known as the Omnibus Bill and provided 
•' for the admission of California as a free State ; second, the formation of 
the territory of Utah ; third, the formation of the territory of New Mexico, 
and ten million dollars be paid to Texas for her claim on this territory; 
fourth, the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia; fifth, the fugitive 
slave law." This last measure was extremely unpopular in the north. Its 
provisions were excessively obnoxious to the whole non slave-holding States, 
and raised a storm of opposition, evasion and violation, which led to serious 
disturbance and much bitter strife. In the midst of this excitement the 
President died, and was succeeded by the Vice President, Millard Fillmore, 
July 9th, 1850. In the brief administration of General Taylor, there had 
been a number of important events which affected the issues of the 
impending Civil War. One of these was the invasion of Cuba by General 
Lopez, a native of that island, who had come to the United States and 
raised, organized and equipped a force in violation of the neutrality laws. 
He landed in Cuba the 19th of April, 1850, expecting to find the Cubans 
ready to rise and make a strike for freedom from Spain. But in this he 
was disappointed, and returned to the States to raise a larger force. Of 
this we shall speak further on. The other event was the establishment 
of Mormonism in the region called Utah, a large tract of country i^-i'-Aay 



1353] 



THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 



311 



between the Mississippi and the Pacific. The Mormons were a religious 
sect who had accepted the delusion of Joseph Smith in 1827, and had 
emigrated from the State of Illinois. They came across the plain and 
founded their settlement, after many hardships and trials, in the spot they 
called Deseret. They were fanatical in their notions, and had adopted a 
system of marriage which was antagonistic to the religious and moral 
sentiment of the whole country. They recognized the right and held to 
the practice of polygamy, or a plurality of wives. They spread their 
doctrines by means of missionaries over all parts of the world and came 
in large numbers to Utah. They have long had sufficient population to 
form a State but up to this writing — 1882 — have been kept out of the 
Union on account of their peculiar institution of polygamy. 

ADMINISTRATION OF MILLARD FILLMORE. 

HE compromise measure adopted as we have seen 

was the first measure of importance during his term 

of office. The cabinet of General Taylor resigned at 

the time of his death but the incoming President 

retained them in office, and zealously carried out the 

policy which had been inaugurated by his predecessor. 

The Fugitive Slave Law was supported by the 

p executive power, and occasioned wide-spread dissatisfaction all 

over the non-slave-holding States. Before this time, while 

the slave owner could claim, and recapture his so-called 

property when found, he could not demand the aid of 

northern officials, or citizens in aiding him in the search ; but 

'1^ this law authorized him to employ the executive arm of the 



■^^H^Ji^ general government, in the search and delivery of his fugitive 
"^^mfy slaves, and any citizens could be called upon to assist in 
^\^ this, when a United States Marshal demanded it. This was 
8^ at utter variance with the spirit of free institutions in the 
North, and the people of that section, and a large number in the South, 
were in favor of its repeal. This led to a fearful struggle on the part of 
both sides, to carry their points, and the final result was most disastrous 
to the nation. 

In the spring of 185 1, there were enacted the most salutary changes in 
the Post Office laws, and a great reduction in rates of postage. The electric 
telegraph became perfected, and thousands of miles of wire, were binding 
cities, countries and States. Thus instantaneous communication could be 
held between distant points. Fulton and Morse, by their discoveries, had 
annihilated time and space, and bound the distant States into a more solid 
union, than had ever been known before. 

In the summer of 185 1, there was increased excitement over the 
proposed invasion of Cuba a second time npder General Lopez. Tlie 




312 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1850 

watchfulness of the government was awakened, and the United States' 
marshals were ordered to arrest any persons suspected of violating the 
neutrality laws. The steamer Cleopatra, was detained in New York harbor, 
and several respectable citizens were arrested for complicity in the matter. 
General Lopez made his escape from the authorities, with four hundred and 
eighty men, and landed on the northern coast of Cuba, August nth. He 
left Colonel N. L. Crittenden, of Kentucky, with one hundred men at that 
point, and went into the interior with the rest. Crittenden with his party 
was captured ; taken to Havana, and shot on the i6th. Lopez was attacked 
on the 13th, and his band dispersed. He had been deceived in finding any 
of the natives ready to aid him. There were no indications of any uprising 
and he was a fugitive. He, with six of his men, was arrested on the 28th, 
and on September ist, 1851, they were all shot. 

In the Fall of 185 1, there was more accession of territory for the United 
States. Many millions of acres of land, were purchased of the Sioux Indians 
and they were removed to the reservation appointed for them. The territory 
of Minnesota was organized, and emigration soon filled it with a white 
population. The number of Representatives and Senators in Congress had 
increased so much since the war of 1812, that it now became necessary to 
enlarge the Capitol building in Washington, and the corner-stone was laid 
for a new wing July 4th, 185 i, by the President, with appropriate ceremonies. 

The expedition of Elisha Kent Kane, M.D., a surgeon in the United 
States Navy, started for the Arctic Ocean, in 1853, and resulted in many 
scientific discoveries which settled the fact of an open Polar Sea, but the 
object of the search, to find Sir John Franklin, was not accomplished. 

The visit of Louis Kossuth, an Hungarian patriot to this country during 
Mr. Fillmore's term of ofifice, was an occasion of much interest in 
awakening the sympathies of the people, but the government did not give 
him the material aid he sought. 

There was much ill feeling engendered between the United States, and 
England, growing out of the Newfoundland fishery question ; but it was 
settled in October, 1853, without any rupture. 

An event of great commercial interest, occurred the same year in the 
distant East. Commodore Perry, — a brother of the hero of Lake Erie, — 
made a treaty with the Government of Japan, in which it was agreed that 
part of that Empire should be opened to American commerce; the 
steamers from California to China, should be furnished with coal, and 
American sailors shipv/recked on the coast of Japan, should be hospitably 
treated by the natives. 

The relations between the United States and Spain, became involved, 
growing out of the Cuban matters, and for a time war was threatened. 
There was a feeling in Europe, that the United States wanted Cuba, to hold 
command of the entire Gulf of Mexico. England and France, asked that 
the United States enter into a treaty with them which should secure Cuba to 
Spain, and disavow, " now and forever hereafter, all intention to obtain 



1853] 



THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 



313 



possession of the Island of Cuba." Edward Everett, Secretary of State, 
answered this demand in a logical, and unanswerable argument, which was 
praised for its power and patriotism, and the subject was dropped. 

The most important event at the close of President Fillmore's term was 
the organization of the Territory of Washington, from the northern half of 
Oregon. This became a law on March 2d, 1853, two days before the newly 
elected President, General Franklin Pierce, took his seat. , William R. King, 
of Alabama, had been elected Vice President, but failing health prevented 
him from entering upon the ofifice. 



ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN FIERCE. 

HE day that Mr. Pierce was inaugurated, March 4th, 
1853, there was a bitter storm of sleet and rain, the 
most severe that had ever been known in Washington, 
and augured a tempestuous administration. So it proved 
in the sequel. The first serious difificulty that arose was 
in regard to the boundary line between Mexico and the 
United States, and for a time war seemed inevitable. 
The Mexican army occupied the disputed territory, but the 
matter was amicably settled by peaceful negotiation, and friendly 
relations between the two republics have existed ever since. 
In the early part of this administration a large exploring 
expedition was sent to the Pacific coast of Asia, which was of 
^ great importance in view of the establishment of numerous 
steamship lines between the ports of Asia and the United 
'}'&i0k'^ States. The question of connecting the Atlantic and the 
f\^ Pacific coast with railways, was agitated in connection with this 
•^ subject. Four explorations were sent out by government to 
survey as many routes: one from the head waters of the Mississippi to 
Puget Sound ; one from the same river to the Pacific along the thirty-sixth 
parallel of latitude ; one by way of the Great Salt Lake to San Francisco, — 
which line was completed in 1869; the fourth from the lower Mississippi to 
Southern California. The explorations were made, and a vast amount of 
scientific, geographical and natural information was gained. 

A world's fair of Industry and Mechanical Arts was opened in New 
York, in the spring of 1853 and modelled after a similar one held in Hyde 
Park, London, England, in 1851. This gave great encouragement to the 
manufacturers and mechanical arts in America, and showed the nations of 
Europe what strides the young republic was making in the march of 
improvement. The lull which precedes a deadly storm had fallen upon the 
country at the time Congress met, in December, 1853. There was an 
unprecedented calm in the political world, and the quiet of a settled p'^-c:: 




314 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1S53 

rested upon the country, rippled only by a wave of trouble with Austria, 
which was soon settled. 

Important treaties with Mexico and the Central American States were in 
progress of settlement in regard to various inter-oceanic communications by 
railway or water. In the distant Pacific there was a kingdom whose 
inhabitants had become civilized. Christianized, and established in a govern- 
ment with a wide extent of commerce, in a single generation, namely, the 
Sandwich Islands. The king and his people desired to unite with the 
American States, and took steps to bring that about. France and England 
at once were jealous, and charged the whole scheme upon the American 
missionaries. The United States Minister and the missionaries denied that 
they had influenced the natives. The American government denied the 
right of foreign governments to interfere, and a treaty for the annexation 
of the Sandwich Islands was in preparation when King Kamehameha died, 
and his successor discontinued negotiations. These were afterward revived 
in 1866, by Queen Emma, when she returned from her visit to England. 

The slavery question which had been so quiet for a few years, suddenly 
presented itself just as Congress was sitting down to work on the important 
matters of commerce and internal improvement. Stephen Douglass, United 
States Senator from Illinois, introduced a bill which aroused the people to 
the most intense excitement, and broke in upon the harmony of Congress. 
In the very center of our continent there was a vast domain embracing one 
fourth of all the public land of the country. It extended from thirty-seventh 
parallel of north latitude to the British possessions, and was the most fertile 
and best watered portion of America. The bill of Mr. Douglass provided 
that this territory should be organized into two territories — Kansas and 
Nebraska — and contained a provision to repeal the compromise of 1820, and 
allow the people to decide whether or not slavery should be permitted. The 
thunder storm broke over the country in renewed fury, and violent discussion 
arose in the North and South. The bill was discussed in the Senate from 
January 30th to March 3d, 1854, and thousands of remonstrances poured in 
from all parts of the North, but it passed the Senate by the decided vote of 
thirty-seven to fourteen. In the House of Representatives it was shorn of 
its worst features by amendments, and the final defeat seemed almost 
certain. A bill for the construction of a railroad to the Pacific, was 
reported to the Senate. A Homestead Act, giving one hundred and sixty 
acres of land from the public domain to any white male citizen who would 
occupy and improve the same for five years, was introduced in the House 
of Representatives. An amendment graduating the price of land was passed 
in its stead. Another victory for slavery. But the excitement quieted 
down till the 9th of May, when the Nebraska bill was called up again. At 
once the public pulse ran up to fever heat. The debate was fierce and 
intense ; the suspense of the people was fearful, but on the 22d of May, the 
bill as amended passed the House, was rushed to the Senate, adopted as 
\mended, and signed by the President the last of May. Every barrier to the 



i857] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 315 

lawful spread of slavery over the public domain was now removed ; but the 
end was not yet. 

Another chapter in the controversy opens at once. Spain had a cause 
of grievance with the United States in regard to Cuba. The American 
steamship, Black Warrior, was seized in the port of Havana by tlie Cuban 
authorities. The Spanish government justified the act when the American 
Minister at Madrid asked for redress. But the Cubans became alarmed and 
offered to give up the ship by the owners paying a fine of six thousand dollars. 
The owners complied under protest. The matter was amicably adjusted 
between Spain and the United States. The slave power used the irritation 
caused by this incident as a pretext for a gigantic scheme of propagating 
slavery. 

In 1854 President Pierce appointed James Buchanan, then ambassador 
at London, James M. Mason, ambassador at Paris, and Mr. Soule ambassador 
at .Madrid, as a commission to confer about the difficulties in Cuba, and to 
get possession of that island by purchase or otherwise. The Ostend Circular 
was issued by them, on the iSth of August, 1854, in which they said, "If 
Spain, actuated by pride and a stubborn sense of honor, should refuse to 
sell Cuba to the United States," then, " by every law, human and divine, 
we shall be justified in wresting it from Spain, if we possess the power." 
This is the argument of the highway robber, and why it should not have 
been rebuked at Washington can only be understood in the coming light 
of future events. In the light of these events, we learn that the stupendous 
design embraced the plot of " the Golden Circle," which was to establish an 
empire with Havana as its center, embracing an area of sixteen degrees 
of latitude and longitude, to take in the slave States, the West Indies, 
and a great part of Mexico and the Central American States. 

We find a little relief in turning from this subject for a moment to 
others. 

The boundary line between Mexico and the United States was 
established upon satisfactory terms, as we have already stated. The United 
States was to pay ten millions of dollars, and be released from all obligation 
imposed in the former treaty of 1848. Seven millions on the ratification of 
the treaty and three millions when the line was established. These 
conditions were faithfully carried out. 

An important reciprocity treaty was made with Great Britain, which was 
of great advantage to both parties, and removed to a considerable extent 
the restrictions on free trade, between the United States and Canada. The 
two governments agreed to the introduction of many articles, such as bread- 
stuff, coal, fish, and lumber, from one to the other, free of duty. England 
gave the United States the free use of the St. Lawrence, and the canals of 
the provinces, and in return, enjoyed the right of fishing, as far as the 
thirty-sixth degree of north latitude, and other privileges. This treaty 
continued until 1866. 

The att(::r,pt on the island of Cuba, had failed : but there w.-;:; started 



3i€ THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1853 

at once an expedition to Central America to overcome a portion of the 
golden circle. This was organized by a warm personal friend of Jefferson 
Davis, Secretary of War, under the administration of Mr. Pierce. His name 
was William Walker, and he invaded the State of Nicaragua, on what is 
known as the Mosquito Coast, under the pretext that the British were 
attempting to take this coast, in violation of the principle of the " Monroe 
doctrine," many persons had emigrated hither from the Southwestern States. 
The guns of the United States Navy, had already awakened the echoes of 
these tropical forests. The Mosquito King, had sold a large tract of land to 
two British subjects, and the emigrants led by Colonel H. L. Kenney, had 
settled there. The attention of our Minister to the State of Nicaragua, had 
been called to this matter, and our government could not wholly ignore the 
subject, but dealt -with it so mildly as to leave the inference that the 
emigrants would not be molested by the United States. Captain William 
Walker, went to the aid of Colonel Kenney, and with his band attempted 
to capture the city of Rivas, but his attack was repulsed, and he escaped 
to the coast. Walker returned, with armed followers, in August, 1855, and 
in September the emigrants assumed the independence of Nicaragua. Walker, 
after gaining some victories, placed General Revas, in the Presidential chair, 
of the independent State of Mosquito, and drove Colonel Kenney away. He 
strengthened his military power, and was recognized by a British consul. 
The other States of Central America, became frightened at this display of 
audacity, and combined to drive Walker out of his position. Costa Rica, 
formally declared war against this new power, and Walker raised a strong 
band, and shamelessly proclaimed, that he was there by invitation of the 
liberal party of Nicaragua. The army of Costa Rica came to attack him, 
and he overcame them. Walker then became arrogant, forced a loan from 
the people, and after Revas had abdicated the Presidency, Walker was 
elected President, by two-thirds of the popular votes. He was inaugurated 
June 24th, and our government hastened to recognize the new nation. It 
was the opening chapter in the grand plot. He held his position for two 
years, and finally was obliged to surrender his army of two hundred men, 
and flee to New Orleans. He attempted to raise another expedition, and 
on the 25th of November, landed at Puntas Arenas, where he was captured 
by Commodore Pauling, of the United States Navy, and with two hundred 
and thirty-two men, was taken to New York. President Buchanan privately 
commended Commodore Pauling for the act, but for "prudential reasons" 
publicly censured him in a special message to Congress, January 7th, 1858. 
Walker was discharged, and preached a new crusade against Nicaragua, all 
through the Southern States, collecting money to aid him in a new invasion. 
He sailed from New Orleans, on a third expedition, but was arrested, and 
tried before the United States Court, for " leaving port without a clearance," 
but was acquitted. Then he went to Central America, recommenced 
hostilities, was taken, and shot at Truxillo by the natives. Thus ended anothef 
act in the civil strife which was raging. 



i857] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 317 

In 1855, there was serious trouble with the Indians in Oregon, and 
Washington Territories, and the United States Army was sent to quell it, the 
aborigines overcame them, and a general massacre of white families followed. 
In the season of 1855-56, it seemed that the combination of Indians was 
so strong that the settlers would have to abandon the territories named, but 
General Wool, was sent to Oregon, to organize against the savages, and the 
trouble was settled the following summer. 

A slight war-cloud arose between Great Britain and the States, growing 
out of the enlistment of men in the United States for the Crimean war. 
This was done under the sanction of several British consuls in this country. 
After some diplomatic correspondence, the offending consuls were dismissed 
and the British Parliament disavowed any complicity in the matter. 

The remaining events in the administration of Franklin Pierce, are full 
of matter having immediate reference to the great struggle going on in 
the country between the advocates of the spread of slavery, and the 
advocates of free soil. The contest was most intense and bitter in 
Congress, and in the political canvass. Silently there were unseen and 
complicated moral forces at work, but none the less potent because 
unseen. A great party sprung into existence in the North, and found 
many adherents in the South. John C. Fremont of California, and 
William L. Dayton, were the candidates of this party for President and 
Vice President. This was the Republican party. Another organization 
throughout the country known as the American or Know-Nothing party, who 
were opposed to the foreign element in the national politics, nominated 
Ex-President Fillmore and A. J. Donaldson of Tennessee, for the same 
offices. The Democratic party put James Buchanan and John C. 
Breckenridge, in nomination for the same. The political canvass of 1856, 
was the most exciting- and antagonistic that the country had ever seen. 
The press, the pulpit and the rostrum, rang with the utterances of men who 
were alive to the questions of the hour. In every hamlet and village of the 
North, and most of the South, the party lines were distinctly drawn, and 
families, and neighborhoods were stirred with the agitation of the all 
absorbing subject. 

The day of the election came and the whole country waited in breathless 
anxiety for the returns. The election of James Buchanan for President, 
and John C. Breckenridge for Vice President, was the result. 




3i8 



THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 



[1853 



THE STRUGGLE IN KANSAS. 




ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

.HE virtual repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 
led to a renewal of the contest between the two 
contending forces, and Kansas became the battle-ground 
of the decided opponents on the two sides. The people 
from the North began to pour into the new territory and 
it became apparent that they would largely outnumber 
the settlers from the slave States. The South was 
the first in the field and took possession of land in all parts. 
Missouri was near at hand and Kansas was easy of access, 
but the Southern people were not an emigrating class and 
their numbers came slowly. There were people enough to 
form a State in time, but the Northern settlers could outvote 
the Southern. The time for election was coming and some 
decisive steps must be taken. Large bodies of Missourians 
came in 1854, and when a delegate was chosen from the 
Territory out of twenty-nine hundred votes cast, seventeen 
'^" hundred were by Missourians who had no legal right to vote 
there. These men from " over the border " were in tents and had artillery 
with them as if arrayed for battle. A legislature was illegally chosen to 
meet at Pawnee City, one hundred miles from the Missouri line. This 
body immediately adjourned to meet on the very borders of that State 
and proceeded to enact laws in favor of slavery. They were vetoed by 
the governor and passed over his veto. The actual settlers of the territory 
appointed a convention to meet at Topeka, October 19th. Governor 
Ruden was nominated for Delegate to Congress and at once elected by 
the legal voters. On the 23d of the same month a convention chosen 
by the actual citizens of Kansas adopted a Constitution providing that it 
should be a free State, and asked admission to the Union under this 
instrument. Governor Ruden and the pro-slavery delegate appeared at 
Washington as contestants for seats. In the meanwhile January 17th, 1855, an 
election was held and the state officers were chosen by the legal voters 
of the Territory. President Pierce, January 24th. sent a special message 
to Congress representing the action of the people in Kansas in forming a 

State government as a rebellion. 

Then there came a reign of terror for Kansas in which violence, blood- 
shed and fraud were rampant. The actual settlers resisted the efforts of 
their pro-slavery neighbors in forcing upon them a condition of things 
obnoxious to their sense of right and justice. Men were slain and driven 
out of their possessions for expressing anti-slavery sentiments and the 



1857] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 319 

struggle seemed to be like the death grapple of giants. Finally a committee 
of investigation was sent from Congress, and a majority of them agreed 
in their report to sustain the acts of the legal voters and refuse the frauds 
by which Whitfield had been elected and the pro-slavery constitution 
passed. The member of the Committee from Missouri alone dissented from 
the report, and the mission failed to accomplish any result either way. 
Then came the election of Buchanan as fifteenth President of the 
United States. 

There had been an important case pending in the United States 
Supreme Court in which a decision had been reached before the election, 
but it was withheld from the public until the result of the popular vote 
should be known. It was the famous Dred Scott decision. Scott was 
a slave of a United States officer who had taken him into a free State 
and while there Scott had married the slave girl of another officer, both 
masters giving their consent. Two children had been born of this marriage 
on free soil. The master of Scott bought the wife of his slave, and 
brought the parents and their children to Missouri and held them all. 
Scott claimed his freedom on the ground of his involuntary service in a 
free State and the District Court had given him the case. It went to the 
Supreme Court of the State which reversed the decision. Then it came 
before the Supreme Court upon the question of jurisdiction solely. The 
Chief Justice of that court decided against Scott, and announced that no 
person "whose ancestors were imported into this country and sold as slaves" 
had any right to sue in the courts of the United States. The majority 
of the Court agreed with him. But after the election was decided they 
published their decision, and went beyond the question at issue to say 
that our Revolutionary fathers " for more than a century before " regarded 
the African race in America as " so far inferior, that they had no rights 
zvJiicJi the ivliite man ivas bound to respect,'' and they were never thought 
or spoke?i of except as property. President Buchanan in his inaugural 
address two days before this strange decision had been promulgated, 
referred to a mysterious something which would settle the slavery ques- 
tion " speedily and finally," and expressed the hope that thus the long 
agitation of this disturbing question was approaching its end ! But the 
end zvas 7iot yet. Kansas was still a battle-ground and the contending 
parties had not given up the struggle. Peace was for a while restored, 
but the two forces were energetic and active. The question of a free or 
a slave State was not yet decided. 

The pro-slavery party .had met in convention and framed a constitu- 
tion favorable to their side, at Lecompton, in September, 1857. It was 
submitted to the people in this way. They could vote " For the consti- 
tution with slavery " or " For the Constitution without slavery ; " in any case 
they must vote for this Constitution, which was " all one way," and that 
protected slavery until 1864. Of course the free soil men would not vote 
at all, and the pro-slavery Constitution was adopted by a large majority. 



320 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1853 

An election for the territorial legislature was held under assurance 
from Governor Walker that the people should not be molested, and 
although there were many frauds the anti-slavery party had a large 
majority. This legislature ordered that the Lecompton Constitution, 
should be sent to the people to vote "for" or "against" the measure as 
a whole. It was rejected by over ten thousand majority. But in spite of 
this the President sent the Lecompton Constitution to the Senate, February 
2d, 1858, by whom it was once passed. The House of Representatives 
amended the bill by referring it again to the people of Kansas for 
acceptance or rejection. It was again rejected by over ten thousand 
majority, and finally Kansas was received into the Union as a free State. 
In the year 1862 the opinion of the Supreme Court . was practically 
rejected as unsound by granting a black citizen a passport to travel in 
foreign countries. Such were some of the skirmishes which preceded the 
war of 1 86 1 -65. 

The " Southern Commercial Convention " convened at Vicksburg, voted 
on the nth of May, 1859, that "All laws. State or Federal, prohibiting the 
slave trade, ought to be abolished," a scheme was started to promote the 
African slave trade, under the specious disguise of an "African labor-supply 
Association." The withdrawal of American cruisers from the coast of 
Africa, was discussed in the United States Senate by Mr. Sidell, of Louisiana, 
and Mr. Buchanan protested against the right of British men-of-war to search 
suspected slave-traders who flew the United States flag. Ship-loads of slaves 
were landed in southern ports directly from Africa. The northern States 
had in many instances passed personal-liberty laws, restricting the Fugitive 
Slave law so far as they could do, without a rupture with the national law. 
This exasperated the other party. A National Emancipation Society was 
formed in Cleveland, Ohio, which aimed at the gradual extinction of the 
institution of slavery. 

The attention of the country was turned to the disturbing Mormon 
question. These people in Utah were rising in a revolution because they 
could not gain admission as a State. They destroyed the records of the 
United States District Court, and by orders of Brigham Young, their 
governor and spiritual guide, they were to look to him for all law. Colonel 
Cummings, the actual governor of the Territory, was sent with an army to 
enforce the United States law. The Mormons destroyed a provision train, 
committed sundry depredations, but finally Young surrendered the seal of 
the territory, and threatened to gather his people and leave the country 
rather than submit to Gentile rule. But he thought better of it, and in a 
short time Utah made another unsuccessful attempt to enter the Union. 

This little episode made scarcely any impression upon the great excitem.ent 
that was agitating the country. The "Mormon War" had ended in smoke. 
The South American troubles were settled. Walker in Nicaragua, had ceased 
to interest the public mind, and Congress was engaged upon the Homestead 
*\ct, the Pacific Railroad bills, Soldiers' Pensions for the war of 1812, and 



1859] THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 321 

other peaceful and unexciting measures, when suddenly the smouldering 
flame of excitement broke out afresh, and startled the land from Maine to 
Florida, and from ocean to ocean. John Brown, an honest enthusiast with 
a handful of followers had assembled at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and with 
a written constitution, a secretary of war, a secretary of state, and a 
treasurer, he was ready to declare war with the government as far as slavery 
was concerned. His little band consisted of seventeen white men and five 
blacks. The whole land was informed by telegraph from Baltimore, that 
" an armed band of Abolitionists have full possession of the Government 
Arsenal, at Harper's Ferry." All the border States were in a ferment of 
anxiety; their homes, their sacred altars, and their institutions were in danger. 
Governor Wise, of Virginia, summoned the State Militia, and General 
Robert E. Lee with United States troops and cannon, were hastened to 
the spot to suppress the bloody insurrection. Two of Brown's men were 
slain, and he was arrested. He was tried for exciting the slaves to 
insurrection, for treason and murder, found guilty, and shot on the 2d day 
of December, 1859. This was the raid of John Brown. The excitement 
and terror of Governor Wise, of Virginia, was very great. The most 
exaggerated rumors concerning the whole affair spread over the whole country, 
and Governor Wise prepared to repel the invasion which he was sure was 
being organized in the Northern States to sweep over Virginia. A thorough 
investigation developed the fact that Brown had less than twenty persons 
associated with him in his undertaking, and no open sympathizers in the 
whole land. 

The indications of the elections of 1858 and 1859, pointed to a loss of 
supremacy in the party which had held the national government so long, 
and something must be done to protect their own interests. The designing 
politicians had a gigantic plot in view, and while the great mass of the 
people in the South were a law-abiding people, who would abide by the 
constitution and the laws of their country if left to their own judgment, 
these men, comparatively few in number, deliberately set about the scheme 
of severing the Union, and establishing a Confederacy of States in the 
South. The time had come for their action, for the new party were growing 
strong. If they did not strike at the close of Mr. Buchanan's administration, 
although they might succeed in electing a President in sympathy with them, 
their power in Congress would be much weakened. Now if they could give 
the people of the South another cause for their action and succeed in " firing 
the Southern heart " to the sense of wrong they would gain a material 
advantage when the blow should fall. It would not do then to have their 
candidate of the Democratic party elected, and the first point was to assure 
the election of a Northern man to the office of President, by the vote of 
Northern States. How could this be done? Why, the answer was easy 
enough. Divide the grand old Democratic Party into two factions. Then 
with the plea that the Republican party was a sectional one, and would 
oppress the South, inflame the people of the slave-owning States with the 



322 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1850 

idea that their State institutions were in danger, and arouse them to 
patriotism for the State. 

Now the people of the South were brave, her men were conscientious, 
and her upper classes were the peers of any nation in intelligence. The 
doctrines of Jefferson had been the theme of her orators for two generations, 
and the theory of State Sovereignty had taken root in a rich and productive 
soil, where it had grown to a stalwart tree. The training of years had taught 
the great mass of her people to believe that slavery was right, or if not 
morally right, was a necessary evil in the very condition of things. The 
North had agitated, discussed, and stirred up strife when the whole land had 
been prosperous and at peace, and had caused contention and unreasonable 
commotion with their internal affairs. What though the North disavowed 
any intention of interfering with slavery in the States where it then existed, 
the very agitation of the subject on their borders, made them restless and 
stirred up their slaves. The conspiracy of a few score men could magnify all 
this into a grievous wrong, and stir the warm blood of the South to the 
intensest heat, and unite the people in a common cause, as dear to them as that 
which moved the hearts of their Revolutionary sires. 

For months there had been indications that the convention which was 
to meet in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, would be a stormy one, 
and there were mutterings of the coming tempest, that should shake the 
country to its center. The gathering of the six hundred delegates, from all 
States in the Union, began on the 23d of April, i860 ; and from the hour of its 
opening, there was the strong pressure of the conspiracy felt. Caleb Cushing, 
was chairman, and Stephen A. Douglass of Illinois, was the strongest candidate 
whose name had been proposed before the convention. He had won the 
title of " Little Giant of the West. " His idea of popular sovereignty, had been 
engrafted into the platform of the party at Cincinnati four years before. 
The oppositions were in favor of a speedy adoption of the institution of 
slavery as a national institution, but the friends of Douglass were not ready 
for this. The convention, by a handsome majority, re-afifirmed the doctrine 
of popular sovereignty, and at once the plot was sprung. The leader of the 
delegation from Alabama, announced that he, and his colleagues, would 
formally withdraw from the convention. Other delegates followed, and a 
new convention was formed, in another hall. The dismemberment of the 
Democratic Party, was complete, and the plot was subsequently unmasked by 
Mr. Glenn, of Mississippi, who said in the new convention, " I tell Southern 
men here, and for them I tell the North, that in less than sixty days, you will 
find a united South, standing side by side with us." Charleston was the 
scene of great delight that night, for South Carolina understood what that 
utterance signified. The result of this secession was that John C. 
Breckenridge, was nominated by the National Democratic Party, and Stephen 
A. Douglass was the candidate of the Regular Democratic Party. The 
Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, for President, and 
IL.nnibal Hamlin, of Maine, for Vice President. A fourth party. The 



I86n THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 323 

Constitutional American Party, which adopted the constitution of the United 
States for its platform, nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, for the Presidency. 
And the political contest was fought with such vigor as had never been 
known before. The Republican and the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic 
party, were antagonistically opposed, and the brunt of the struggle waged 
between them. Abraham Lincoln had said there is " an irrepressible conflict 
between Freedom, and Slavery." " The Republic cannot exist half slave, and 
half free," and " Freedom is the normal condition in all the Territories." 
This was the Republican side of the question. Mr. Breckenridge claimed 
that no power existed that might lawfully control slavery in the Territories, 
and it existed in full force wherever a slave-holder, and his slaves, entered 
it, and it was the duty of the National Government to protect it there. The 
issue was plain and decided ; no one need misunderstand it. Abraham 
Lincoln was elected by a majority of the votes in the electoral college ; but 
since there were four candidates in the field he had a large MINORITY of the 
popular vote. This was a part of the plot, to claim that he was a sectional, 
and a minority President. There would be four months in which to mature 
and carry out the plans already working so well. 

Two years before this, William L. Yancey had written to a friend : 
" Organize committees all over the Cotton States ; fire the Southern heart ; 
instruct the Southern mind; give courage to each other; and at the proper 
moment, by one organized, concerted action, precipitate the Cotton States 
into revolution." Mr. Yancey had been an active public speaker in the South, 
during the canvass of i860, and when the result was known, the leaders in 
the South were as much elated over the election of Lincoln, as any one in 
the Republican party. Now the pretext that the platform, and the policy of 
the Republican party, and the utterances of the President elect, with the 
fact that he was a sectional candidate, elected by Northern votes, and these 
a minority of all the votes cast, led the people of the South to fear that he 
would be a usurper of their rights, and the people listened until their 
righteous indignation was stirred, and they were ready to make one bold and 
united stand for their inalienable rights. In the third year of the war, a 
Southern gentleman wrote in a letter to a friend, " Perhaps there never was 
a people more bewitched, beguiled and befooled, than we were when we 
went into this rebellion." 

In the President's Cabinet, there were three, if not four men, in active 
sympathy with the movement, and they were anxious to wait until the end of 
the term before the blow should be struck. There were arsenals, fortresses, 
custom houses, and other public property in the South. The forts and 
arsenals in the North were stripped of all movable military stores, and they 
were sent South. The United States Navy was scattered to the four 
quarters of the globe, and most of the ships in commission were beyond the 
reach of speedy recall ; others were lying in ordinary in the navy yards 
under the pretense of being repaired, but no work was being done upon 
them. The United States Army Ofificers in suspected sympathy with the 



324 THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. [1850 

North, were sent to the extreme West, and the credit of the government was 
purposely injured. A small loan could not find a market at twelve per cent, 
interest. This was the condition of things. Some wanted to strike the 
blow as soon as the election was over ; others had another plan, which was this, 
as avowed by a disunionist who was in the plot. 

Near the close of Buchanan's term " we intend to take possession of the 
army and navy and the archives of government ; aot allow the electoral 
votes to be counted ; proclaim Buchanan Provisional President if he will do 
as we wish, if not choose another, seize Harper's Ferry Arsenal and the 
Norfolk Navy Yard, and sending armed men from the former, and armed 
vessels from the latter, seize the city of Washington and establish a new 
government." Why was this not done ? Lewis Cass was Secretary of State, 
and he discovered the treason of his associates ; but being powerless to 
avert the danger, he resigned. The Attorney General was promoted to be 
Secretary of State, and E. M. Stanton was called to be Attorney General. 
Secretaries Holt, Dix and Stanton, all of whom had been called into the 
Cabinet after its first formation, were loyal men, and brought a pressure upon 
the President that he could not withstand, and while he did nothing to 
openly aid the plot, he was obliged to make a show of sustaining the 
National government. 

The first step to open revolt was made by South Carolina. A convention 
of delegates in Charleston, adopted an Ordinance of Secession December 
20th, i860. This was signed by one hundred and seventy members. A 
similar ordinance was passed by the following States in the order given : 
Mississippi, January 9th, 1861 ; Florida, January loth ; Alabama, J.anuary 
nth; Georgia, January 19th; Louisiana, January 26th; Texas, February 
1st; Virginia, April 17th; Arkansas, May 6th ; North Carolina, May 20th; 
Tennessee, June 8th. 

On the fourth of February, 1861, delegates of six of the States above, met 
in Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a league styled The Confederate 
States of America. A provisional Constitution was adopted at once, and 
Mr. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was chosen Provisional President, and 
Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice President. This organization of a 
few conspirators, — since no Ordinance of Secession was ever submitted to 
popular vote, — became a self-styled government, and made war on the United 
States ; seized its public property ; put a loan upon the markets of the world ; 
issued letters of marque and reprisal, and raised armies to overthrow the 
government while yet its own instrument was in the presidential chair in 
Washington. And to increase the infamy, the Attorney General of the United 
States declared that the President had no right to interfere to prevent the 
property from being seized, and so millions of dollars worth of public property 
fell into the hands of the South, without an arm being raised to prevent it. 

A Peace Convention was held in Washington, in January, 1861, but the 
Senators and Representatives, rejecting all offers of compromise that were pre* 



iSOiJ 



THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 



325 



scnted from Congress, and from this Peace Convention, withdrew as their States 
seceded under the pretext of being loyal to the State 

The poor, distressed President Buchanan, had to do his best for the two 
months wh,ch remained of his term of office. The Southern members of ™ 
Cabmet, holdmg on to their positions as long as they could be of any se vie 
to the South, there and tl,en leaving their chief to fill their places Jith 
Northern men. The first overt act was performed when Ma^or LI 
Anderson a loyal Kentuckian, refused to give up Fort Sumter, nto which 
he had retired from a weaker fort, Moultrie 

cnJuJ""uf"'"T "VJ' "™^ "'' Lieutenant General Scott, who was 
enfeebled m body and mmd from age, and although he was loyal he was 
unable to cope with the mighty problem. He, howfver, caused Mr L nco n 
to be warned of h,s danger, and the President elect came through Baltimore 
alone on h,s way to Washington, on the morning of February 23d, 1861 and 
remamed there until his inauguration, on the 4th of March 




THE CML WAR, lESH. 




J 

ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

'HE sixteenth President of the United States was 
inducted into his office in the fear of having his Hfe 
taken at any moment, and General Scott had arranged 
the mihtary forces at his disposal in such a way that 
they could be called upon in any exigency that might 
arise from any suspected outbreak in the National 
Capitol. But all passed off quietly, and the President 
took the oath of office as his predecessors had done in the open 
air, at the east portico of the Capitol. The Senate confirmed 
his nominations at once. The new administration set itself at 
work with great zeal to ascertain the resources of the government 
and FOUND what we have already hinted at. The public credit 
[^ was destroyed, but the now loyal Congress set at work to 
Iv restore it. The Army and Navy were of little use ; of the 
\$- former there were only i6,ooo men, and most of them were on 
the frontiers, sixteen forts with all their equipments were in the 
hands of the South, and all the arsenals. The value of the 
public property in the hands of the insurgents was thirty millions of dollars. 
There were forty-four vessels in commission, and of these only one, the 
Brooklyn, of twenty-five guns, was ready for immediate service, and a store 
ship. Many officers of the navy were Southern men and had resigned, 
leaving this branch of service very weak and crippled. The first gun fired at 
Sumter, April I2th, 1861, awoke the slumbering nation which had thought 
that all this array in the South was for effect. Before Major Anderson and 
his heroic band brought away the flag from Sumter, which he evacuated but 
did not surrender, there was a divided sentiment in the North; some thought 
that there could be no war and that a peaceful solution was still possible, 
others comprehended the spirit of the revolt and were satisfied that the 
struggle would produce blood-shed. The flag was taken from Sumter, on 
April 14th, and the sun went down that day with a united North arrayed 
against a united South. Such an uprising the land had not seen before. 
Men of all grades of society, and every political and religious creed were 
ready to spring to arms in defense of the Union, at the call of the President 
two days later. Seventy-five thousand men were called for a three months' 
service, and were hurried to the front from all the Northern States. The six 
slave States, to whose governors the requisition for troops was sent, treated 
the whole subject with utter scorn. The crusade was spontaneous ; in every 
town and hamlet and village the Stars and Stripes were dispbyed. p.juI brave 



i865] THE CIVIL WAR. 327 

men enlisted to don the union blue, and march to the front. Nothino- Hke it 
had been known since the crusades of the Middle Ages to redeem the tomb 
of the Saviour from the Saracen. The Nation was in danger, and the old 
spirit of the fathers now glowed in the bosoms of their sons. But little did 
they know what was before them. Three months they thought would suffice 
to put down the revolt. Three months and they would come home as heroes, 
and a grateful country would honor them as the preservers of their nation. 
They soon found that the South was organized for war, and fighting at their 
own doors on the defensive. They had mistaken the spirit and temper of the 
men in arms against the government. 

In the South there was also a wide-spread mistake in regard to the 
North. They thought that the Northern people would not fight, and that 
their friends of the pro-slavery party there would make a strong resistance in 
their favor. Within seven days after the attack on Sumter, the South had 
an army in the field ready for battle, and the shout " on to Washington," was 
as enthusiastic as the cry " on to Richmond " was in the North. The South 
and the North were of the same race, but under the sunny sky the former 
had warmed up to fever heat, and were ready for war at the instant ; the latter 
under a colder climate, was longer in being aroused, but when once in 
thorough earnest they had entered the strife they did so with the dogged 
determination to conquer or die. These were the two parties in the contest, 
and now in dead earnest, there could be no cessation in the deadly grapple 
until one or the other should succumb to superior strength and determination. 

Governor Pickens had said to the people of the cotton growing 
States, " Sow your seed in peace for old Virginia will have to bear the 
brunt of battle." So prompt was the uprising of the people in the North 
that the very next day after the issue of the call for troops several 
companies of militia arrived in Washington ready for the service. The 
Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts volunteers were attacked in the streets 
of Baltimore, and the first blood shed on the 19th of April. Communica- 
tion by rail and telegraph was severed between that city and Washington 
and for several days the President and his Cabinet were virtually prisoners 
in their Capital, but General Benjamin Butler with Massachusetts men 
found a way there by water to Annapolis and the Relay House, and 
relieved the anxiety of suspense. Troops of hopeful men began to throng 
to the Capital, but they were none too soon, for an army was being 
collected in Northern Virginia to march to Washington and take the city. 
Harper's Ferry Arsenal and the Norfolk Navy Yard had fallen into the 
hands of the insurgents. 

There was an opinion on both sides that the war would be brief, and 
the South thought that she had only to march on to the Capital of the 
United States, seize, hold it and dictate terms of peace favorable to 
herself; while the North regarded the Southern uprising as a formidable riot 
. that could be crushed in ninety days. So little did either party under- 
stand the grit and persistency of the other. The truth was that six 



328 THE CIVIL WAR. [1861 

millions of people in the South, high spirited, possessing a fertile soil, 
with a great industry upon which the manufactories of England were 
dependent for a supply, had risen against the government after months, if 
not years, of careful preparation. The problem for the loyal States, taken 
at a fearful disadvantage in matter of preparation, was to conquer. 
The new flag of " stars and bars " was floating over Alexandria in full 
view of the Capital. Preparations were being pushed to fortify Arlington 
Heights from which the Confederates could shell the city of Washington. 
At Manassas Junction a large army were encamped only thirty miles 
away. It would seem to a casual observer that the proper course to 
pursue would have been to act on the defensive, but the North were now fully 
aroused. They had been deceived by the threats of disunion so many 
times before that it had taken some time for them to realize the fact now, 
but once awake to its stupendous existence they bent all their energies 
to its suppression. A blockade of all the Southern ports was declared, 
and in a few weeks ships enough were manned to shut every Southern 
port of any considerable size. The government had gained much in a 
short time but there was a general cry for some decisive battle. The 
Secretary of War, at this time more sanguine of a short contest than he 
was a few months later, yielded to the popular pressure and ordered 
the imperfectly disciplined army of citizen soldiers to battle. General 
McDowell with an army variously estimated from thirty to forty thousand, 
marched from his quarters at Centerville, to Bull Run, Sunday, June 
17th, a distance of only ten miles. The volunteers, not yet inured to 
hardship, suffered much on this march, and when they reached the small 
stream which was to become famous as the scene of a great battle, they 
were met by the Confederate army of General Beauregard, and a general 
engagement took place in which .the loss was heavy on both sides. The 
Union army was repulsed and fled in a precipitate route to Washington. 
The men were hurrying in wild confusion from the field of conflict. The 
defeat had become a general panic, and baggage trains, artillery, cavalry, 
infantry, and civilians were mixed in a promiscuous mass. The confederates 
had won the battle, but showed no disposition to follow up the advantage. 
In fact they had suffered as severely, and in the first general engage- 
ment each side was equally astonished at the force displayed on the 
other, and awoke to the consciousness of the fact that there was equal 
determination and bravery in both armies. The North were taught that 
the work of putting down the insurrection was a more stupendous task 
than had been imagined but their purpose was not shaken. The day 
after the battle Congress voted to raise five hundred million dollars and 
five hundred thousand men to put down the Confederates. A few days 
after a resolution was passed in both Houses, saying that it was a 
sacred duty of the nation to put down the revolt, from which no 
disaster should deter them, and to which they pledged every resource, 
national and individual. Mr. Lincoln said : " Having chosen our course 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 329 

without guile and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God 
and go forward without fear and with manly hearts." The spirit of the 
North was fully aroused and no thought of any other issue came to 
them. Thousands of earnest youth and middle aged men thronged into the 
ranks, fermented with the same lofty spirit of patriotism. Many of the 
three months' men re-enlisted for three years. Regiments and brigades 
■divisions and army corps, were organized, and the army was being rapidly 
disciplined and prepared for the fearful task imposed. Public credit was 
•established and private patriotism was aroused. The money to pay the 
soldiers of a Connecticut Regiment was not ready on time, and a private 
in the ranks drew his check for one hundred thousand dollars to advance 
the pay of his comrades. This man was Elias Howe, Jr., of Bridgeport, 
the inventor of the sewing machine. He had a physical lameness which 
would have exempted him from military service, and when a commission 
was offered to him refused it on the ground of his inability to perform 
the duties, but he enlisted as a private to encourage other men, who 
could perform good service, to do the same. After the disaster at Bull 
Run, General George B. McClellan was placed in command. He was 
a skillful engineer and organizer and set about the task of organizing 
this incongruous mass of patriotic volunteers into a well arranged and 
thoroughly disciplined army. His friends knew that he was the man to mould 
the army and make it what it should be, an obedient, disciplined and well 
of^cered instrument of the government. In October, 1861, he was the 
commander of two hundred thousand fighting-men, the largest army the 
United States had ever known. The men loved him with an enthusiasm 
that had been unequalled since the days of Napoleon Bonaparte and the 
army delighted to call him "The -young Napoleon of the West." 

After the secession of Virginia the Confederate government removed 
its seat from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, and now the capitals 
of the two contending forces were within a few hours travel of each other. 
The most severe fighting of the entire war was occasioned by each 
endeavoring to capture the capital of the other, and the brave obstinacy 
displayed in the defence of each. 

General Robert E. Lee was in chief command of the Confederate army. 
He had been educated at the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, and was an officer in the United States Army when his native State, 
Virginia, joined her fortunes with the Confederacy, and following his sense of 
duty and honor, he allied his fortunes with those of his native State. He 
was a brave, conscientious and skillful general, and a calm, thoughtful, 
unpretending man. He contended almost always with a force superior in 
number and armament,— such was the fortunes of war — but he made up more 
than the deficiency by his genius and skill. By his consummate ability and 
devotion to the cause, the war was maintained after the hope of success was 
gone, and when at length the overpowering resources, and numbers of the 
North compelled his surrender, he was esteemed even by his enemies, who 



330 THE CIVIL WAR. [1867 

were proud of this noble but erring son, who had been educated by the 
nation against which he had with mistaken judgment drawn his vaHant 
sword. 

Thomas Jackson, who earned the epithet of " Stonewall " Jackson, was 
the most celebrated of Lee's generals. He was an earnest religious man of 
stern uncompromising integrity, which won the admiration of friend and foe 
alike ; but he had gone into the war from a high sense of duty, and shows how 
a noble man can be sadly mistaken in judgment. He was scrupulously exact 
in his own private life, led a class in Sunday School, taught his negroes, and 
delivered lectures on the authenticity of the Scriptures. He firmly believed 
in the justness of slavery, and ordered his slaves to be flogged when he 
thought the circumstances required it. He proposed at the commencement 
of the war, " that no prisoners be taken," and when this inhuman opinion did 
not gain the sanction of the chief generals, he never ceased to his death to 
regret that this policy was not carried out. He was a brave, expert and 
successful general, and died regretted by honest men in both armies. 

In January, 1862, President Lincoln ordered General McClellan to 
advance with his finely equipped army upon the enemy, and by the end of 
March was ready to move. 

At the opening of the new year we will glance back over the history of 
the year 1861. Fort Sumter had been evacuated by Major Anderson, April 
14th. President Lincoln had issued his call for troops on the 15th. The sixth 
Massachusetts had been mobbed in the streets of Baltimore, on the 19th. 
The offensive operations were begun by the United States Army on the i8th 
of May. The engagements of Big Bethel, Philippi, Fairfax Court House, 
Paterson Creek, Mather's Point, York Bridge, Laurel Hill, Rich Mountain, 
Beverly, Carrichford, Bunker Hill, Barboursville, and First Bull Run, all in 
Virginia, had been fought before the disaster at Bull Run, of which we have 
written. They were, for the most part but preliminary skirmishes, and in no 
sense decisive. The insurrection in Maryland had been strangled at its birth, 
and that State saved to the Union. In Missouri, three engagements of 
considerable importance had been fought at Boonsville, Carthage, and Briar 
Forks, The Confederate privateer Petrel was sunk by the St. Lawrence, 
August 1st. A battle was fought between General Lyon, of the Union 
army, and General McCulloch, of the Confederate army, at Dug Spring, 
Missouri, August 2d. Fort Fillmore was treacherously given up by Major 
Lynde, with seven hundred and fifty men, the same day in New Mexico. 
Lovettsville, Grafton, Boone Court House, Carnifax, Lucas Bend, Lcwinsville, 
Elk Water, Cheat Mountain, Darnstown, Romney Fall Church, Chapmansville, 
Greenbriar, Bolivar, Balls Bluff, Vienna and Drainsville, all in Virginia, were 
places where more or less blood was shed during the opening year of the war. 
In the State of Missouri, whose governor was determined to take her out of 
the Union, a severe contest ensued, which resulted in driving the 
Confederates from her borders, and preserving her to the United States. 
Potosi, Wilson Creek, Charlcstown, Lexington, Blue Mill Landing, Papinsville, 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 331 

Fredericktown, Springfield, Belmont, Mount Sion, were the names of places 
where engagements were fought in that State. 

In Kentucky the Confederates gained a slight foothold in the southern 
and western part, and under the show of military power they held a 
convention, and passed an ordinance of secession and delegates were chosen 
to the Confederate Congress. A skirmish was fought at Buffalo Hill, and 
another at Hemington in that State, in October, and battles at Wildcat, 
Cromwell, Saratoga, Piketown, during October and the early part of 
November. On the 7th of November, the Union forces captured and held 
the forts on Hilton's Head, South Carolina. 

In the fall of 1861, there occurred an event which for a time threatened to 
cause a rupture with Great Britain. The Confederate government had sent 
two commissioners with credentials as ambassadors to the English and French 
courts, which had already acceded belligerent rights to " The Confederate 
States of America." These gentlemen, each with his secretary, had succeeded 
in running the blockade on the stormy night of October 12th, 1861, and 
proceeded to Cuba. Here they took passage on the British steamer Trent for 
St. Thomas, intending to take the regular packet steamer from that port, but 
the United States vessel, San Jacinto, Captain Charles Wilkes, took them 
from the Trettt and carried them to Boston, where they were incarcerated in 
Fort Warren, then used as a military prison. This act was in the strictest 
accord with the British interpretation and practice of the question for which 
the war of 1812 was fought, and which was left undecided in the treaty of 
peace at the close of that war. But it was in direct opposition to the avowed 
theory and policy of the American government. England now claimed, as 
the Americans claimed in 1812, that this was a violation of the rights of 
neutral powers, and after fifty years, in which she had strenuously maintained 
the right to do the very thing which the United States had now done, that 
proud nation acknowledged that the principle was wrong. A demand was 
made for the return of the ambassadors, James M. Mason and John Slidell. 
The American government were too glad to vindicate their policy, and to rid 
themselves of the burden, by giving up the men on January ist, 1862. The 
ambassadors did not gain the advantage they sought, and the event silence 1 
forever the arrogant claim of England to search the ships of neutrals. 




332 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



[1861 




THE OPERATIONS OF 1862. 

^HE year 1862 opened with a design on foot to establish 
the national power on the Atlantic coast of the Southern 
States. A secret expedition under Command of Major, 
General A. E. Burnside, sailed from Hampton Roads 
January iith. The result was that Roanoke Island 
and the coast of Albemarle Sound fell into the hands 
of the Union forces. The Confederate force fled from 
Port Royal, South Carolina, January 2d. 

In Kentucky there had been a fight near Prestonburg, 
in which General J. A. Garfield, defeated the disunion General 
Humphrey Murphy, January loth. General Thomas had defeated 
General Zollicoffer in a battle at Mill Spring, Kentucky, where 
the latter was killed. Kentucky was saved and a path of 
escape made for the Union men in East Tennessee by these 
two decisive victories. The disunion army fled into Tennessee. 
A flotilla of gun boats had been built and equipped under General 
John C. Fremont, of California fame, at Cairo on the Mississippi. 
Commodore A. H. Foote, had been put in command. An expedition against 
Forts Henry and Donaldson had been organized, and General U. S. Grant 
had been put in chief command. Commodore Foote was ordered to the 
Tennessee River with his gun boats. February 3d, he was in front of Fort 
Henry, and on the 6th, the fort surrendered. General Grant made immediate 
preparation to attack Fort Donaldson, while Commodore Foote hurried back 
to Cairo to obtain mortar guns for the siege. The battle began on the 
13th, was renewed on the two- following days and the fort surrendered 
on the i6th with thirteen thousand three hundred prisoners of war. 
The Confederate Generals, Floyd and Pillow, fled the night before and 
left General Buchner, who was the only brave man of the three to 
surrender the fort. This was the first brilliant victory for General Grant 
during the war. The fall of Fort Donaldson was a heavy blow to the 
Confederates, but the news caused the most wide-spread rejoicing all 
through the loyal States. It was regarded as a crushing blow to the 
Southern cause, and lost to them the States of Missouri, Kentucky and 
all northern and middle Tennessee. 

The campaign in Arkansas resulted after a few skirmishes in the 
decisive victory for the Union forces under General Sigel at Pea Ridge, 
on the 7th of February 1862, in which the five disunion generals, Van 
Dorn, McCulloch, Mcintosh, Pike and Price were engaged. McCulloch and 
Mcintosh were mortally wounded and Van Dorn retired behind the 
mountains. The Confederate army lost thirty-four hundred men in killed 
and wounded, and sixteen hundred prisoners. 

While these important victories were going on in the West there 



i865] THE CIVIL WAR. 333 

were events of interest occurring in Virginia. The Confederates had 
taken an old frigate which they sheathed in iron and roofed her with 
iron rails and fitted her up as a formidable iron clad. There was no 
ship in the United States Navy which could withstand her attack. On the 
8th of March she steamed down to assault the fleet in Hampton Roads. 
This monster, which had been re-christened the Merriinac, came into 
the very midst of the fleet. Not a man was seen on board, not a gun 
was fired, and the broadsides poured in upon her rolled off her iron 
sides and left her unharmed. She destroyed the Cojtgrcss and Cumberland^ 
and no power could withstand her assault. The Union fleet was apparently 
doomed, and this monster could devastate the whole Northern coast. 
There were anxious hearts that day through all the North as the news 
of this encounter flew on the wires over the country. The Confederates 
had the advantage of them now, and could rest on their laurels for 
one night at least. The next day she came down the James to 
complete her work of destruction so well begun the day before. But 
at midnight a mysterious something came in from the sea;, lighted on 
her way by the burning Congress. The thing looked like a cheese box 
on a raft ; and there had been nothing like it in the whole history of 
naval warfare. It was the Monitor on her trial trip from New York. 
That day was the trial of strength between the inventive genius of the 
two sections. The Yankee cheese box won the prize. In the novel naval 
engagement she was the victor and the monster crawled back to her 
moorings disabled and useless. The United States Navy had found a 
champion that could defend her from the monster that but yesterday 
threatened her annihilation. 

The army of the Potomac was transferred to Fortress Monroe, and 
prepared to sail up the James river. General Banks was sent up the 
Shenandoah to attract the attention of General Stonewall Jackson. The 
battle of Winchester was fought on the 23d of March and resulted in a 
victory for the Union arms. 

The month of May found General Fremont in the mountains of 
West Virginia ; General Banks at Strasburg in the Shenandoah valley ; 
and General McDowell at Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock, for the two 
fold purpose of defending Washington and helping McClellan. The swift 
moving General Ewell had joined Jackson, and on May 8th struck Fremont 
a heavy blow, and May 23d sent Banks flying down the valley to Winchester. 
Then the tide turned and Ewell was driven back, pursued by Fremont 
and Shields. Jackson rallied his forces, joined Ewell, and on the 9th of 
June the national armies began their second great race down the Shenandoah, 
followed by the Confederates. 

The two main armies were face to face with each other on the first of 
June, within six miles of the Confederate Capital. The army of the Union 
were anxious to enter the city of Richmond at once, and the time had 
come for a decisive blow. The leader was wanting, McClellan's habitual 



334 THE CIVIL WAR. [1861 

caution and desire to save human life led him to be over anxious 
for the safety of the army, every man of which loved him. They were 
burning to win glory and honor, and were in good condition to march 
directly into the city. Lincoln urged him daily to make the attack, but 
still he hesitated. The Confederates came out to attack him, and the 
general made preparation to retreat to the shelter of the gun boats on 
the James river. He would save his army or " at least die with it and 
share its fate." The army of patriots were anxious to fight on the offensive 
and could decide the question of its own fate but the general, over- 
solicitous, moved away from the enemy, and his retreating army was daily 
attcked by the Confederates, and as often gained the victory ; but still they 
fell back for seven days. Once they drove the enemy fleeing before them 
and the soldiers demanded to be led into Richmond. The army was 
strong enough but its leader was weak. McClellan was loyal and desired 
the success of the North, nor would we for an instant hint at any improper 
motives. McClellan was such a man as aroused the enthusiasm of the 
rank and file, and at the same time hesitated to lead them to death. 
He lost fifteen thousand men in seven days fight' from Gains' Mills, June 
28th, to July 3d, 1862. The army of Generel Lee had sustaineda loss 
even larger, and when McClellan was fortifying his camp on the James, 
Lee was glad to rest his shattered and discomfited troops behind the 
fortifications of Richmond. The retreat was a masterly and skillful one, 
and showed magnificent generalship no doubt, but neither the army nor 
the country were in a humor to appreciate the greatness of a General 
whose skill consisted in conducting a successful flight. The prize had been 
within the grasp of a hand powerful enough to seize it, but the brain 
that directed that power was conservative and cautious, and therefore the 
city of Richmond was to be a bone of contention between the magnifi- 
cent army of the Potomac and the brave army of Virginia for long years 
to come. The Confederates were exultant and the North sadly disappointed 
with the results of the campaign of the Spring of 1862. 

We will turn in this swiftly changing panorama to the West. The 
silent, determined and persistent General U. S. Grant, was doing valiant 
service for the Union army, and rising in rank and influence. After the fall of 
Fort Donaldson, Johnston saw that he could only save the Confederate army 
by evacuating Bowling Green, and Columbus, Kentucky; he then marched 
his forces to Nashville, Tennessee, closely followed by General Buell, and at 
the same time the national gunboats moved up the Tennessee River from Fort 
Donaldson. Nashville, Tennessee, was surrendered to the Union forces 
February 26th, and on March 4th, Andrew Johnson was appointed Military 
Governor, with the rank of Brigadier-General. Columbus was taken by 
Commodore Foote and General W. T. Sherman, March 4th, 1862. Island 
Number Ten, a thousand miles from New Orleans, was now regarded as the 
key to the Mississippi River, and was strongly fortified by the Confederates. 
This was flanked by General Pope, and Commodore Foote hammered away at 



r865] THE CIVIL WAR. 335 

the defenses from his gun-boats until it surrendered, April 7th. This was 
another heavy blow to the Confederates, and they never recovered from it. 
General Grant had sent the gun-boats up the winding Tennessee River, from 
Fort Henry, and they penetrated the country as far as Florence, Alabama, 
under Lieutenant Commander Phelps, United States Navy, who found an 
intense loyal feeling among the people. The army were anxious to advance 
to their aid, and General Grant attempted to do this. The objective point 
was Corinth, a city on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The large 
Union army was encamped at Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, about twenty 
miles from Corinth, on the first of April. General Buell was trying to join 
Grant with his forces from Nashville, leaving General Neyley in command in 
that city. Huntsville was captured April nth, by a part of Buell's army 
under General Mitchell. The battle of Shiloh had been fought and won by 
Grant, on the 7th. The Southern army had advanced from Corinth to within 
four miles of the Union army unperceived on the morning of the sixth, 
Sunday, and fell upon Generals Sherman, and Prentice, — the battle waged all 
day, and the Union army at night was driven discomfited to the shelter of 
their gun-boats, on the Tennessee. Beauregard telegraphed a shout of 
victory to his chief at Richmond, but Buell and Lew Wallace arrived in the 
night, crossed the river, and Grant's army was saved. The next day the 
fight was renewed. Wallace charged on the Confederate left, and pressed 
Beauregard back. The battle became general, and the Southerners were 
driven from the ground that they had taken the day before. Then they fled 
in precipitate rout, covered by a strong rear guard. The South lost ten 
thousand men, the North fifteen thousand, and that night the Union army 
buried the dead on the battle field, while the enemy fled to Corinth. General 
Halleck came from St. Louis, April 12th, and assumed command, but instead 
of marching directly upon Corinth, he moved by slow approaches with spade 
and pick, fortifying as he advanced. On the morning of May 30th, when he 
sent out skirmishers " to feel the enemy's position," there were no enemies, 
for Corinth had been evacuated, and the city burned. 

At the mouth of the Great Pviver the Union Squadron, with General 
Butler, had captured Forts Jackson and Philip, and entered the Mississippi. 
New Orleans had been occupied by General Butler, who declared military law 
April 29th. Commodore Foote with his flotilla, besieged Fort Pillow, May 
loth, and on the 4th of June the forces fled to Memphis, where Commodore 
Davis, who had succeeded Commodore Foote, had a severe engagement on 
June 6th, but soon after the flag of the United States waved over the city of 
Memphis. All this was going on in the west while the army of the Potomac 
was moving so cautiously under General McClellan. 

The expedition to North Carolina was accomplishing much in gaining 
that State back to national control. The battle of Newberne was fought 
on March 8th, and a fight occurred upon the nth of . April, near Elizabeth 
City. The Northern troops had taken the coast, and were moving into the 
interior. The national forces captured Fort Mason, at the entrance of 



336 THE CIVIL WAR. [1861 

Beaufort Harbor, April 25, and now held undisputed sway from the Dismal 
Swamp to Cape Fear River. 

While General Burnside was engaged in this work in North Carolina, 
General Sherman and Commodore Dupont went upon a similar expedition to 
the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. Fort Pulaski was taken after a 
severe pounding, April 12, and this commanded the entrance to the Savannah 
River. The coast of Florida was easily seized in the early winter. Fort 
Clinch, the first of the national forts re-occupied since their seizure, was taken 
in February, Jacksonville, Florida, March nth, St. Augustine and Pensacola, 
opposite Fort Pickens, which never had been in possession of the South, were 
captured in March. Thus in less than a year from the fall of Sumter, the 
United States was in possession of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, with the 
exception of Charleston harbor, as far as Pensacola bay. 

The scene will change again to the army of the Potomac. General 
McClellan had disappointed the country, and when the news of the disasters 
to the Union forces, in front of Richmond, swept over the North, the hearts 
of the people sank within them. The commander assured the government, 
three days after the battle of Malvern Hill, that he did not have " over fifty 
thousand men with their colors." Wliat had become of the one hundred and 
sixty thousand men who had been sent to him within the one hundred days 
previous? Lincoln with an anxious heart hastened to the head-quarters of 
McClellan, to solve this question and answer his request for more troops. 
The result of this conference was that Lincoln found forty thousand men 
more than the general had reported, and yet there were seventy-five thousand 
men missing. Orders were given to remove this army from the Peninsula, 
and concentrate it before Washington, but McClellan was opposed to this 
plan, and he was slow to obey. 

In the month of August, 1862, the national Capitol was in great danger. 
The battle of Cedar Mountain had been fought on the 9th of that month. 
In this fight the national troops were under command of General Banks. 
They were driven back, but by the timely reinforcement of General Rickett's' 
division, were able to check the Confederate advance in one of the most 
desperate encounters of the war. Both sides claimed the victory. General 
Pope was reinforced by Burnside's army, and moved to the Rapidan,. 
intending to hold that position until the arrival of McClellan, but was driven 
back by Lee. The Confederate general found that he could not force a 
passage in this direction, and he moved toward the mountains to outflank 
Pope. This general did his best to thwart the plan of Lee, but his army was 
much weakened, and McClellan protesting against moving from the James 
delayed reinforcements from that quarter. Pope, therefore, concentrated his 
forces at Rappahannock Station, August 23d, 1862, that he might be able to 
fall with a superior force, upon the flanking army under "Stonewall" Jackson. 
This adroit and skillful general, with accustomed swiftness, crossed the Bull 
Run Mountain at Thoroughfare Gaj), and placed his immense force between 
I'ope and Washington. His cavalry swept as far as Fairfax Court House 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. z^7 

and Centerville, and his main army were at Manassas, waiting for a heavy 
column under Longstreet, who was advancing. The two armies were both of 
them in danger of annihilation. Pope moved with quickness to attack and 
capture Jackson, before Longstreet could come up. But the latter succeeded 
in joining Jackson, and Pope, who was now assured that he need no longer 
wait for reinforcements from McClellan, saw that he must fight. The second 
battle at Bull Run, was fought with great loss and defeat to the Union army, 
August 30th. Pope fell back to Centerville, where he was joined by 
Franklin, and Sumner. Lee did not now attack them, but made another 
flank movement August 31st. This resulted in a battle September ist, at 
Chantilly, where Generals Philip Kearney and Stevens were killed, and the 
whole army driven within the fortifications of Washington. 

The Confederates now had the advantage and determined to follow it up. 
The time had come when they could make a formidable advance upon 
Washington, and carry the war into the land of the enemy. September 7th, 
Lee crossed the Potomac with almost his entire force, and marched into 
Maryland with the belief that thousands of people in that State would join 
his army and fight, to redeem her from the Northern army. In this he was 
sadly disappointed. McClellan with the Army of the Potomac, numbering 
90,000 came to the rescue, and the army of Virginia was merged into it. 
McClellan moved cautiously; but in the meantime Burnside had fought and 
won the battle of South Mountain, in which the gallant General Reno was 
killed. Harper's Ferry was captured by Lee's army, where Colonel D. H. 
Miles, a Virginian, surrendered nearly 1200 United States troops. The 
crisis was coming and the issue must be met at Antietam. The Confederates 
had possession of the right bank of the stream, and the Union army the left. 
The contest opened with artillery firing from the former. McClellan was not 
ready to move until noon. Hooker crossed the Antietam and had a 
successful fight on the Confederate left, and rested on his arms that night to 
renew the fight in the morning. The fight opened early the next day, by 
Hooper charging on Lee's left again ; Burnside on the right, was doing good 
execution against Longstreet. The contest waged all day, and at night the 
Confederate army retreated from the scene. Fourteen thousand fresh troops 
came to the aid of McClellan, and it would seem as if he might have followed 
up his advantage, and taken the Confederates ; but when he was ready to 
move, thirty-six hours later, Lee's shattered and broken army were behind 
their own defenses on the south side of the Potomac, whither they had 
hastened in the cover of darkness, the night before. McClellan came to 
Harper's Ferry, which he found abandoned by the Confederates, and ten days 
after the battle of Antietam, while the North were hourly expecting to hear 
that his victorious army had pursued and overcome Lee, he coolly declared his 
intention to remain where he was, and " attack the enemy should he attempt 
to re-cross into Maryland." October 1st, President Lincoln, instructed the 
Commander of the Army of the Potomac, to move at once across the river ; 
but twenty days were spent in correspondence, during which the beautiful 



338 THE CIVIL WAR. [1861 

October weather, which was favorable for military movements had passed, 
and Lee's army was resting, recruiting and fortifying. Then, November 2d, 
McClellan announced that his whole army were in Virginia, prepared to move 
southward, on the east side of the Blue Ridge, while Lee was on the west 
side. The patience of the government and the loyal people of the North 
was exhausted, and McClellan was relieved November 5th, and General A. E. 
Burnside was placed in command. This ended the military career of Major- 
General George B, McClellan, the beloved commander of the army of the 
Potomac, who was over-cautious and careful of the lives of his men. 

General Burnside reorganized the army and formed a plan to capture 
Richmond. For this purpose he made his base of supplies at Acquina 
Creek, and took position at Fredericksburg, from which he intended to 
advance. But before he was prepared to cross the Rappahannock, Lee 
appeared with an army 80,000 strong, on the heights in the rear of the city, 
arhd destroyed all the bridges on the river. Burnside was obliged to cross 
upon pontoon bridges. The Union army advanced under a heavy fire, and 
a bloody battle ensued, which lasted from the 13th, to the i6th of December, 
and the Unionists were defeated with great slaughter. Lee took possession 
of the city, and the Nationr.l forces retired under cover of darkness. 
Burnside was superseded by General Joseph Hooker January 26th, 1863, 
when the army were in winter-quarters. We must here leave them, while we 
turn our attention to the stirring events on the Mississippi. We had left 
the Northern army June ist, 1862, in possession of the river, from its 
mouth to New Orleans, and from its sources to Memphis, Tennessee. 
Colonel John H. Morgan, of Tennessee, had organized an independent band 
for guerilla warfare, and was overrunning his native State with his horsemen, 
and making long and swift raids through the country in all directions 
preparatory to an invasion of Tennessee and Kentucky by a Confederate 
force. By these raids much damage was done to private and public 
property, and many exactions were wrung from the people. General E. 
Kirby Smith, with a large Confederate force, entered Kentucky from East 
Tennessee, and prepared to march upon Frankfort, the capital. A desperate 
battle was fought August 30th at Richmond, Kentucky, in which the Union 
army under General Manson was defeated. The affrighted Legislature in 
session at Frankfort, fled to Louisville. But the Southern army pressed on 
to Lexington with the intention of crossing the Ohio River and destroying 
the city of Cincinnati. They found their way obstructed by strong 
fortifications on the south side of the river and a force under General 
Lew Wallace. Smith then turned toward Frankfort, captured the city, 
and waited for General Bragg. Bragg crossed the Cumberland River 
September 5th with 8000 Confederates, and September 14th the advance 
guard was repulsed by Colonel T. J. Wilder; but two days after Colonel 
Wilder was compelled to surrender to a superior force. Thus far the 
Southern army had had it their own way, but now there came a change ; 
General Buell fell upon the combined armies of Bragg and Smith at 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 339 

Perryville, and after a severe fight, drove the Confederates from Kentucky, 
with severe loss, October 8th. General Buell like General McClellan was too 
cautious and careful. If he had acted with vigor and decisicui, the invasion 
of Smith and Bragg, would have been crushed at once by the capture of the 
entire force. As it was it was harmful rather than beneficial to the Southern 
cause, and General Bragg who was responsible for it, was relieved of his 
command by the Confederates. 

While all this was going on in Kentucky, General Van Dorn, and Price, 
were invading Tennessee with another Confederate force. General Rosecrans 
with a small force overcame the Confederates in a closely contested battle at 
luka Springs, September 19th. The beaten army fled southward, and at 
Ripley were reinforced, and prepared to attack Corinth, now held by Ros- 
ecrans, and in both engagements of October 2d and 3d, the Southern army 
was repulsed, and finally driven back to Ripley. Then there came a period of 
quiet in the department over which General Grant was in command. 

In the meantime there were important events transpiring on the Great 
River. The forces under Admiral Farragut, and General Butler, had moved 
up the river and taken Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, as early as 
May 7th. Farragut's vessels ran up to Vicksburg and exchanged salutations 
with the gun-boats of Admiral Davis, which came down from Memphis, 
June 29th. Farragut with the Hartford, and other vessels, ran by the forts 
of Vicksburg and joined the fleet above. He besieged the city, and 
attempted to cut a canal across the peninsula, and avoid it altogether, but 
this failed, and the fleet returned down the river. There was an attack by 
the Confederate troops under General Breckenridge, at Baton Rouge. The 
Union General Williams was killed, but the assailants were repulsed. The 
Confederate ram, Arkansas, was destroyed by the United States vessel Essex^ 
Captain Porter commander, August 6th. Captain Porter went up the river to 
reconnoitre and had a sharp fight at Port Hudson, September 7th. A large 
part of Louisiana, on the west bank of the Mississippi, was brought under 
control before the close of the year. General Butler was relieved of the 
command of New Orleans, by General Banks, December i6th. 

The account of one more battle will end the record for the year 
1862. General Rosecrans had taken the sadly demoralized army of the 
Cumberland, thoroughly reorganized and disciplined it. It was in the 
vicinity of Bowling Green when he took command. Bragg had a large 
force at Stone River, or Murfreesborough, and was preparing to annihilate 
the Union army. A most sanguinary conflict was begun on the 31st of 
December, and was fought all day. At night the Unionists were so 
completely overcome that Bragg expected that they would seek safety in 
flight during the darkness, but to his astonishment they were still in his front, 
ready to renew the encounter. The contest was fierce and sharp, when the 
day seemed to be irretrievably lost to the North, a charge of seven 
rz^giments under the leadership of Brigadier-General W. B. Hargen, sent the 
Confederate lines flying in confusion, and won the fearful prize of victory 



340 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



[1861 



from the very teeth of defeat. Bragg retreated to Chattanooga, and 
Rosecrans held possession of Murfreesborough. 

Thus begins the year of 1863, with a decided and glorious victory on the 
field of battle ; but there was a moral victory also won on this day, which 
decided the fate of the country for future generations. 

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 

'HE National Government had disavowed any intention 

to make war upon slavery in the States where it existed* 

The contest was for the supremacy of the Nation* 

and the enforcement of its laws and Constitution. 

There came a mighty revolution of feeling among 

those in the North, who had sympathized with the 

peculiar institution of the South. They came to see 

that this was the fundamental cause of the insurrection, and 

at the same time a means of prolonging strife. The negroes 

could plant, reap the crops, and attend to domestic affairs, 

while the white men were doing military duty. The course 

of many of the Northern generals in returning the fugitive 

slaves who came into, their lines, was very unpopular. 

The Republican party in Congress was pressing upon 
the attention of President Lincoln, the importance of 
emancipating the slaves held by those who were fighting the 
national government. Congress had abolished slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and on the 22d of September, Abraham Lincoln issued 
a preliminary proclamation, in which he declared his purpose to issue a 
Proclamation of Emancipation on the first day of January, 1863, forever 
setting free the slaves of all men found that day in open rebellion against the 
United States. The Confederates sneered at this, and their Northern 
sympathizers, of whom there were some still remaining called it a" Pope's Bull 
against a Comet." The war went on as we have seen ; prosecuted with vigor 
on both sides. The dawn of the New Year came, and " The EMANCIPATION 
Proclamation " was issued under the seal of the United States. The 
friends of freedom hailed it all over the world as the harbinger of success to 
the North. At once the fetters were stricken from over three millions of 
human beings, and they were free before the law to enter the union lines, 
and as fast as new territory in the South was occupied by Union arms they 
were set at liberty. It was a severe blow to the South, and took away their 
hope, but it allied all the real friends of human liberty in the world to the 
cause of the Union. While the North was engaged in this work, the 
Confederacy was engaged in extensive preparations to destroy the commerce 
and the power of the nation. Privateers, built in British shipyards, equipped 
with British guns and seamen, fitted out in British waters ; were sent to prey 
upon American commerce, with the stars and bars flying at their peak. 




I865J 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



341 



When the people of New York heard the cry of the starving operatives at 
Manchester, England, whose supply of cotton had been cut off by the 
blockade of the South, they sent a ^hip-load of provisions to aid them. This 
vessel, laden with the voluntary bounty of America to the starving citizens 
of England, was guarded upon her voyage by an armed government vessel 
to preserve her from the piratical torch, lighted by British hands. 

The course of Great Britain, during all the period of civil war in 
America, seems to the historian a peculiarly inconsistent one. With the 
proud boast that no slave could live under her flag, she hastened to recognize 
the belligerent rights of the Confederate States, gave the moral aid of her 
indifference and apathy to acts of illegality, and stultified herself in regard 
to her national policy of eighty years on the question of neutrality ; gave a 
ready market to the bonds of irredeemable value, and sheltered and abetted 
the enemies of a country with which she was .at peace; furnished ships, 
munitions of war, and men to fight against the same country. All this for 
the sake of aiding a cause avowedly resting upon slavery as its chief corner- 
stone. 

The Confederate privateer Alabama, the principal one of the craft 
fitted out by the British, committed fearful depredations on American 
commerce during the last ninety days of the year 1862. 



THE MILITARY OPERATIONS OF 1863. 

E will open the account of the year with the 
operations on the Mississippi. A portion of this 
great river was still in the hands of the Confed- 
erates, from Vicksburg to Port Hudson, where the 
South had been permitted to erect strong fortifi- 
cations, a distance of twenty-five miles from Baton 
Rouge. Grant had a large amount of supplies at 
Holly Springs, which, owing to the carelessness or 
somethincr worse of the commandant, there fell into the hands 
of the Confederates December 20th. Grant was forced to fall 
back, and thus a large force was able to come to Vicksburg. 
Sherman had planned to attack the city in the rear, but in an 
engagement on the Chickasaw Bayou was defeated with great 
loss December 28th, 1862. He was compelled to abandon that 
enterprise, and January 2d, 1863, he was superseded by General 
McClernand, who out-ranked him. About the middle of January 
the Confederate fort at Arkansas Pass was captured and many supplies 
destroyed. Grant had come down the river from Memphis, and Vicks- 
burg was placed under siege. The army was organized into four corps, 
and after a series of movements which would in themselves fill a volume he 
finally struck upon a plan which he followed to the end. Some of the naval 




342 



THE CIVIL WAR. [i! 



fleet ran down by Vicksburg to destroy the Confederate fleet below, but 
were themselves taken and destroyed. A strong force went down the 
west bank of the river in command of generals McClernand and McPherson, 
in the direction of New Carthage. Porter determined to run by the 
batteries of Vicksburg, and succeeded in doing so with most of his fleet 
and transports on the i6th of April; on the 22d six transports accom- 
plished the same feat, and now Grant prepared for a vigorous attack 
upon the flank and rear of the city. A most wonderful cavalry raid 
under Colonel Grierson through the very heart of Mississippi assured 
Grant that the bulk of the Southern army of that region was in 
Vicksburg. Porter attacked and again ran by the batteries of Vicksburg 
April 29th, and May ist gained a victory at Port Gibson. Sherman 
joined the Union army May 8th. The Confederates were defeated near 
Richmond May 12th, and again at Jackson May 14th. The Confed- 
erates were driven northward and another victory was gained for the 
Union army at Champion Mills; the i6th and 17th Grant drove them 
from Big Black River, and on the 19th he had the whole army penned 
up in Vicksburg, having lived off the enemy's country for two weeks, in 
which time his army had gained repeated victories. The very day he 
arrived before Vicksburg Grant made an assault, but was repulsed. This 
he followed up with another unsuccessful attempt on the 22d. Then he 
settled down to a regular siege of the city for forty days, pouring shot and 
shell into the beleaguered town day and night, until the citizens were 
safe only in caves that they dug in the banks of the hills with which 
the city abounds. The army and people were reduced to the verge of 
starvation and were in great distress. They were driven to the necessity 
of eating mule meat, and cats and dogs. Fourteen ounces of food for 
ten days was the extent of the rations issued. General Pemberton gave 
up all hope of being relieved by Johnston, who he thought would strike 
in Grant's rear, and on the morning of July 3d he sent proposals to 
surrender. The formal surrender was made on the glorious fourth of 
July, and there was great rejoicing, for on the same day another hard 
fought battle was won in the East. Twenty-seven thousand stand of 
arms were taken and the strongest fortress on the Mississippi fell into 
the hands of the Unionists. The commander of Port Hudson, which 
had been bravely besieged by General Banks for forty days, surrendered on 
the 9th; but we will recount his doings in the Lower Mississippi prior 
to this. Banks had sent troops to the support of the Union forces at 
Galveston, Texas, but the Confederate General Magruder had repulsed 
them and retaken the city. This was a barren victory to the Confed- 
erates for Admiral Farragut maintained a strict blockade over that 
port. After this a land and naval force was sent into the Teche region 
and made a successful expedition to repossess the western part of 
Louisiana. 

An expedition to the Red River under Banks penetrated the country 



i865] THE CIVIL WAR. 343 

as far as Alexandria, where the general proclaimed that all Southern and 
Western Louisiana was free from Confederate rule. With this impression he 
led his troops to Port Hudson and invested that point. He made an assault 
on this fortress on May 29th, but was repulsed with much loss. The siege 
went on for forty days, and after Vicksburg fell into the hands of the 
Unionists, the Confederates saw that it would be useless to try to hold out 
longer and capitulated. Now the river was open to the sea, and the 
Confederacy was severed in two parts. The blow was a severe one, and 
the wiser men of the Confederacy saw that their cause was hopeless 
from this point in the contest. 

We last left the army of the Potomac in winter-quarters at the 
opening of the year, Major-General Joseph Hooker in command. There 
followed a period of three months in which he was busily engaged in 
re-organizing that army. A large number of officers and men were absent 
from their regiments. There were officers who were opposed to the 
Government's policy on the question of slavery, and many were crying 
out it is a *' war for the negro " and not a " war for union." These men 
were removed and their places were filled by energetic men in full sympathy 
with the administration. Order and discipline became thoroughly established 
and Hooker had over one hundred thousand available troops on the first 
day of April. The period of rest and reformation of the army had done 
much to add to its tone and strength. During this same time General Lee 
had been engaged in strengthening the army of Northern Virginia. A rigid 
conscription act had been enforced and all the available men were hurried 
into the ranks. He had made the defense of Richmond impregnable and 
with wonderful energy and skill had put his army into the best condition for 
the coming struggle. In April, Lee had a well organized and enthusiastic 
army of more than sixty thousand men. A part of his army under Long- 
street were in South-eastern Virginia but Lee was behind the strong, 
fortifications and able to cope with a much superior force. 

Early in April Hooker determined to make an advance upon Rich- 
mond. He threw a mounted force of ten thousand men in the rear of 
Lee's army, and moved with another large force to Chancellorsville, within 
ten miles of Richmond. The left wing of Hooker's army, consisting of the 
First, Third, and Sixth Corps, was near Fredericksburg, under General 
Sedgwick, and by their demonstration on the Confederate front so 
completely deceived General Lee that Hooker was well on the way before 
Lee was aware of his real design. But Lee did not turn back to Richmond, 
as Hooker thought he would when he discovered his peril, but pushed the 
column of Stonewall Jackson forward, and compelled . Hooker to fight at 
Chancellorsville, with his army divided. There was great peril for both 
armies — Hooker and Lee. The bloody battle of Chancellorsville was fought 
the 1st and 2d of May, and resulted in a bitter defeat for the Union army. 
The struggle was severe and sanguinary, and Hooker's army was driven back 
on the road leading to the Rapidan and the Rappahannock. Lee's forces 



344 ' THE CIVIL WAR. [i8Cr 

were united, but Hooker's were divided. Sedgwick, at Fredericksburg, was in 
danger and could not come to Hooker's aid. When he received the 
command of his chief, he moved at once and took possession of Fredericks- 
burg — stormed the heights, and drove General Early back May 3d. He then 
moved on to join Hooker's main body, but was checked at Salem's Church, a 
few miles from Fredericksburg, by the whole of Lee's army. Now, instead of 
being able to join Hooker, he was driven across the Rappahannock May 4th 
and 5th. Hooker, hearing of the disaster to Sedgwick, was obliged to retreat 
across the river. The Union forces united and fell back on May 5th. The 
whole movement had resulted in a severe loss to the Union army, and a 
decided victory to the Confederates. Longstreet had made a spirited and 
vigorous attack upon General Peck, but had been repulsed at Suffolk at the 
head of the Nansemond River, and Longstreet, hearing of the disaster at 
Chancellorsville, joined Lee and made his army as strong as that of the 
Nationals. The Union army had been out-generaled once more, and the skill 
and energy of the Confederate commander had won the day. 

Under the impression that there was still a large body of people in the 
North who would manifest active sympathy with the Confederates if they 
had the opportunity to do so, and highly elated by their successes at 
Chancellorsville, the authorities ordered Lee to prepare for another formidable 
invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. But they had misunderstood the 
temper and the resources of the North. Hooker suspected this design, and 
reported his convictions to the government at Washington. The term of 
enlistment of a large number of troops that had volunteered for nine months 
had expired, and Hooker's army was being weakened by their discharge, but 
other recruits for three years or during the war were coming in. By a flank 
movement Lee compelled Hooker to break up his camp on the Rappahannock 
and move toward Washington. Lee at the same time sent his left wing up 
the Shenandoah, and a battle was fought at Winchester, in which General 
Milroy was driven back and the Union forces suffered severe loss, but escaped 
into Maryland and Pennsylvania with their supply and ammunition trains. A 
large cavalry force pursued Milroy into Pennsylvania, and destroyed the 
railroad up the Cumberland Valley to Chambersburg, in Pennsylvania, 
plundering the people all along the march. The Confederate army was upon 
Northern soil on June 25th. Hooker had been vigilant and active in the 
meanwhile, and crossed the Potomac at Edwards' Ferry. A disagreement 
arose between General Hooker and General Halleck — then Commander-in- 
chief — and Hooker resigned. General George G. Meade was placed in 
command of the army of the Potomac June 28th, and retained it to the 
close of the war. At this time the Union army were in Frederick, Maryland, 
ready to cut off Lee's line of communication, fall upon his columns in retreat, 
or follow him up the Susquehanna Valley. Lee was then preparing to 
march on to Philadelphia, but learning of the danger which threatened his 
flank and rear he recalled Ewcll, who was within a few miles of Harrisburg. 
The rapid gathering of the militia of Pennsylvania and surrounding States 



1865] ^THE CIVIL WAR. 345 

alarmed him, and Lee, therefore, concentrated all the army of Northern 
Virginia in the vicinity of Gettysburg. He did this for the purpose of falling 
upon the army of the Potomac with crushing force, and then march upon 
Baltimore or Washington, or, in case of defeat, have a line of retreat to the 
Potomac River. General Meade did not comprehend this design of Lee 
until June 30th, and then at once he prepared to meet the shock of battle on 
a line a little south of Gettysburg. This was the pivotal battle of the war, 
and deserves more than a passing notice. The Confederates had invaded a 
Northern State, and were now to meet the Union army on its own soil. The 
great cities of the North were threatened. The Southern army had touched 
its highest point, and upon this issue the fortunes of the country hung. A 
new! general had assumed the command of an army with which he was 
unacquainted two days before the contest was conimenced. Meade had an 
oft-defeated army of from sixty to seventy thousand men with which to 
meet the seventy-five thousand victorious troops of Lee. McClellan, Burnside 
and Hooker had measured ability with this adroit and self-possessed chieftain, 
and been worsted again and again. It seemed a hopeless task, but Meade 
was calm, quiet, resolute, brave, and unpretending. He set himself about 
the task assigned him, and he accomplished it by the loyal co-operation of 
his brave corps commanders, and the persistency of the noble rank and file 
who were determined to conquer or die. Thousands of men who had 
hitherto excused themselves from active military service in the field arose to 
arms, and offered themselves for immediate service, when the field of battle was 
changed from Southern to Northern soil. The Union cavalry under General 
Kilpatrick had met and defeated the force under General Stewart, at Hanover, 
a town east of Gettysburg, June 29th, and on the same day Buford and his 
horsemen entered Gettysburg, but found no Confederates there. The 30th, 
General J. F. Reynolds, the brave commander of the First Corps, who fell on 
the field of battle the next day, arrived with his troops. General Hill of the 
Confederate army was approaching with a large force from Chambersburg, 
which encountered Buford's cavalry in the early morning of July ist. The 
sound of a sharp skirmish brought Reynolds to the field, and a severe 
engagement ensued on Oak or Seminary Ridge, in which the gallant 
Reynolds fell dead. General O. O. Howard with the Eleventh Corps came 
up and the battle became more general, for Lee was concentrating his forces 
there. The Union army resisted the attack, and held their ground bravely as 
charge after charge was made upon their lines, but at night they were pressed 
back to a more advantageous position selected by General W. S. Hancock, 
the intrepid and beloved commander of the Second Corps. This position was 
on a range of rocky hills back of, but close to, the village. The line was 
formed in the two sides of a triangle, with Cemetery Hill, the point nearest 
the town, forming the angle. Here the troops halted for the night, and threw 
up breastworks for defense. General Meade with the main body of the army 
hastened up to join the noble forces who had sustained the brunt of the first 
day's fight. The next day the forces were facing each other on what was to 



346 THE CIVIL WAR. ^ [1861 

prove the most hotly-contested battle field of the war. Each commander 
understood the immense value of the prize at stake, and seemed loth to 
make the first move in the decisive contest. Not until late in the afternoon 
of July 2d did the carnage open. General Lee then precipitated his solid 
columns upon Meade's left, commanded by General Sickles, and the fearful 
harvest of death began. 

This extended to the center, commanded by Hancock, and the heavy 
masses of armed men rolled up to his line to be driven back, like the waves 
of the sea from an iron-bound coast. Huge furrows were plowed through 
the solid ranks of men by the shot and shell, that swept them from the 
Union artillery and yet they would re-form and march up, again to be 
swept back by the awful whirlwind of slaughter that opposed them. At 
sunset the battle ceased on this side of the triangle. The rocky eminence 
called Little Round Top, was the center of the most determined struggle, 
and the Confederates endeavored to take it at any cost so that they could 
hurl the left wing, back on the center. But the brave troops stationed here 
were as firm as the impenetrable granite, and held the position ; at once it 
was opened on the right and right center, commanded by generals Slocum 
and Howard. The latter occupied Cemetery Hill, and the former Gulps Hill. 
Early and Johnson, of General Ewell's corps of the Confederate army, fell 
with great vigor upon these points, and seemed determined to carry them at 
all hazards. They were repulsed with great slaughter from the right center 
on Cemetery Hill, but succeeded in turning the right wing, and holding it for 
the night. This struggle ended at ten o'clock at night. This day's fight had 
resulted in some advantage to the Confederates. Lee was sanguine that 
another day would bring a complete victory for the Confederate cause. 
That was an axious night in many a Northern home, as millions of sleepless 
men and women were reading the swiftly flying news of the deadly 
encounter. 

The loss of Lee had been considerable ; but the Union line was 
weakened, and an attack on the morning would sweep them from the field. 
This was the hour of deepest gloom to the Union cause, and not a man from 
the Commander-in-chief down to the humblest private in the ranks but knew 
it. A million of brave men throughout the country were in arms, but the 
course of Lee's northward march could not be prevented if he won this 
decisive battle field. At four the next morning General Slocum advanced 
and re-occupied the ground he had lost the night before. Meade 
strengthened his weakened lines. A hard fight of four hours was necessary 
to retrieve the old position, and hold the persistent columns of Ewell in 
check. The Union left and left center were impregnable, and Lee prepared 
to fall with crushing effect upon the weaker right. The entire forenoon was 
passed by the opposing generals in making preparation for the fearful 
death grapple. At one o'clock the artillery from Lee's army opened upon 
Howard's front. The challenge was answered by the Union army. The 
country for miles around shook at the roar of over three hundred 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 347 

heavy guns. For three hours the awful duel was kept up, sending death 
and carnage to either side. Then Lee, under the cover of this heavy 
cannonading, precipitated his solid columns which were to break the Federal 
line and gain the day. They swept over the plains, and with the fearful 
yell of battle, attacked the breastworks, only to be swept down by the 
grape and canister, belching forth from a hundred cannon. The ranks fell as 
grass before the mower's scythe ; but on and on the gathering columns press, 
and the harvest of death ceased not till the sun went down. As men went 
down in the bloody tide their places were filled by those who pressed on 
after them, and brave men contended hand to hand on the ramparts. At one 
time Lee, who, like the French Napoleon at Waterloo, was watching 
the battle from a hill-top, saw through the lifting battle-cloud the 
Confederate flag waving on the Union ramparts at a certain point. His 
generals congratulate him on a victory ; but he looks as another dense 
cloud of smoke lifts, and his men are seen broken and fleeing down the fatal 
hill-side, where dead men cover the ground so thick that the retreating army 
tread upon them at every step. The last attack has failed and the Federals 
have won THE Battle of Gettysburg. 

Lee began his hasty retreat on the fourth of July, and Meade, with his 
victorious but exhausted army, followed in hot pursuit to the Potomac, 
where, by fortifications and a show of force, Lee was able to hold the 
Federals at bay until he had got his army and artillery safely across the 
river into Virginia. This was the last Confederate advance into the territory 
of the Northern States. 

The United States now resolved to make one grand effort to suppress 
the Confederacy. A call for men to fill up the army not meeting with so 
ready a response as the circumstances required, a draft was made upon able- 
bodied men between eighteen and forty-five. This gave rise to much 
dissatisfaction among the peace faction, and was the occasion of riots in 
New York. These were put down by the police, aided by some troops, 
and the draft went on. 

After the defeat at Gettysburg, General Lee and General Meade had a 
race down the Shenandoah Valley similar to the one of the year before. 
There was no decisive battle between the two armies for the remainder of 
the year. Several cavalry fights at Culpepper, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, 
Raccoon Station, Robertson's River and Kelley's Ford, in the months of 
August and September. At Cumberland Gap, Burnside captured two 
thousand Confederates September 9th. There was a sharp fight on the 
Rappahannock November 7th, in which Lee with his army was driven across 
the river with a loss of two thousand prisoners, four guns, and eight stands of 
colors. Lee then took his post across Mine Run, which he strongly fortified 
with breastworks and abatis, and held Meade again at bay. Meade 
attempted to dislodge him, and for this purpose cut loose from his base, 
with ten days rations crossed the Rapidan, and with his force advanced to 
Mine Run, but he found Lee so strongly intrenched that he gave up the 



348 ;;,;: the civil war. [i86i 

attempted attack, and re-crossing the river went into winter-quarters the first 
of December. 

In the State of Tennessee there were some startling events during the 
summer and fall of this year. In June, Rosecrans ordered an advance of 
his army in three divisions under generals Thomas, McCook and Crittenden. 
The point to be reached from Murfreesborough was Chattanooga. June 
30th. Bragg, who saw the design of Rosecrans, fled before him and passed 
over the Cumberland Mountains. Rosecrans followed hard after him, but he 
reached the Tennessee River, and crossed it at Bridgeport, and then hastened 
to Chattanooga. Rosecrans pursued Bragg as far as the base of the 
mountain ; here he halted and rested for a whole month. But the middle of 
August he surprised Bragg by appearing in his front, with a line extending 
along the Tennessee River above Chattanooga for a hundred miles, and 
poured shot and shell into the Confederate camp. 

Early in September, Thomas and McCook had crossed the Tennessee 
)R.iver, and by the 8th had secured the passes of Lookout Mountain, while 
Crittenden was in Lookout Valley, near the river. When Bragg was 
informed of this, he abandoned Chattanooga to defend his line of 
communication, and Crittenden moved his forces into the Chattanooga 
Valley. Thus without a battle the object of crossing the mountain was 
gained. Bragg had been driven from Middle Tennessee, and from his strong- 
hold. Burnside crossed the mountains with twenty thousand troops and 
joined Rosecrans on the line of the railroad south-westerly from London. 

Rosecrans thought Bragg was in full retreat and pushed forward to 
strike his flank, but found him concentrated at Lafayette. About the 
middle of September the two armies were face to face on the Chick- 
amauga Creek. A battle ensued and the Confederates won the closely 
contested field at a fearful loss to themselves. Chattanooga was held 
by the Federals but they were hemmed in by Bragg and his army. 
The Government decided to hold this point, and ordered generals Grant, 
Burnside and Rosecrans to concentrate there. The Federals were now 
threatened with famine, but General Hooker was sent from the army of 
the Potomac with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, Howard's and Slocum's, 
to hold the line of communication for Rosecrans. So the attempt of 
Bragg to starve out the Federals in Chattanooga failed. The Confed- 
erates had possession of Lookout Mountain, and swept down upon the 
Twelfth Corps October 28th-29th at midnight, but found the general upon 
the watch and they were repulsed. In the mean time Longstreet had 
been sent into Tennessee to seize Knoxville and drive out the army of 
Burnside. He came swiftly and secretly, and Burnside was closely besieged 
in that city. Grant saw that he must attack Bragg at once upon the 
arrival of Sherman's troops. The plan was made of the battle in which Grant 
was determined to strike the center of Bragg's army on Missionary Ridge 
and his right on Lookout Mountain. Thomas advanced to Orchard Knob, 
and fortified it November 23d. Hooker carried the works at the base 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 349 

of Lookout Mountain, and his victorious troops pressed up the sides of 
the mountain, which was hidden from sight by a heavy fog, and fought 
above the clouds. The Union armies in the vahey below heard the 
cannonading and the shout of the charge, but could not see anything 
of what was being done until the fog cleared up the next morning and 
showed Hooker in possession of the mountain peak. While Hooker was 
fighting above the clouds Sherman had successfully performed his part 
in the plan ancj secured a strong position on Missionary Ridge. In the 
night of November 24th Bragg retired from Lookout Mountain and 
concentrated all his forces on Missionary Ridge. The severe and desperate 
encounter of the 25th raged all day — Sherman, Thomas and Hooker 
all taking part, and at night the fires of victory lighted up the whole 
length of Missionary Ridge as Bragg was in full retreat. Sherman 
advanced to the relief of Burnside at Knoxville, and Longstreet was 
compelled to raise the siege December 3d, and return to the army of 
Virginia. Sherman returned to Chattanooga and Burnside was left at 
Knoxville. So great was the rejoicing at these victories that President 
Lincoln proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and praise, as he had done 
after the Union victory at Vicksburg and Gettysburg. 

There were military operations of some little account in North Carolina 
during the year, where General D. H. Hill had been sent by order of 
General Lee to harass the Federal troops, but the Union forces held 
the advantage gained and the State did not pass from their control. 
There was a most desperate attempt to capture Fort Sumter and Charleston 
waging all the year, with repeated failure and discouragement. The 
harbor had been filled with the strongest obstacles in the form of 
torpedoes, heavy iron chains, sunken vessels and other impediments, and 
guarded by batteries of great strength. General Q. A. Gillmore was 
placed in command of the Union forces June 12th, 1863, and Admiral 
Dupont was succeeded by Admiral Dahlgren July 6th. 

Active operations were commenced at once from Folly Island, held by 
the Union forces, opening upon Morris Island. General Strong landed on the 
latter island July loth, and drove the Confederates to their fortification^ 
Fort Wagner, but when he attacked them the next day he was repulsed with 
heavy loss. Gillmore began a siege of this fort, which continued until 
September 6th, when the Confederates abandoned it, and at once the Federals 
occupied Fort Wagner and Fort Gregg. Now they had full command of the 
city of Charleston, and could pour their solid shot and shell into the streets of 
the doomed city. Fort Sumter was made a heap of shapeless ruins in 
October by the heavy cannonading that Gillmore poured in upon it. 

There were some operations of more or less consequence beyond the 
Mississippi, inflicting some damages upon the Federal troops and stirring up 
the Indians against the United States. But these resulted in no very decided 
advantage to the Confederates, and at the close of 1863 all Texas west of 
the Colorado was in the possession of the Federals. 



350 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



[1861 



The finances of the United States were in a healthy condition, for in 
spite of the enormous debt, constantly increasing, the public credit never 
stood higher, while the Confederate States were in a most deplorable financial 
situation. Their war debt was as large as that of the Federal government 
and the credit was wanting. They were forced to seize supplies for their 
army, and in order to keep their ranks full, passed a most severe conscription 
act, calling out every available man for military service '* robbing the cradle 
and the grave." 

THE MILITARY OPERATIONS OF 1864. 

;HE Congress of the United States in the opening of this 
year saw that there had been some radical trouble in 
the management of the war, and came to the conclusion 
to put some one man in command of the entire force of 
the Government and make him responsible for the 
conduct of the war. Hitherto there had been at times a 
conflict of authority, and different generals had been 
working upon opposing theories, and this had been the prolific 
cause of delays, and reverses. Now a new rank was created by 
law, and U. S. Grant was commissioned Lieutenant-General 
and Commander-in-chief of all United States forces. He 
believed that the surest way to end the war, and in the long run 
^ save human life, was to strike decisive and heavy blows and 
fe follow them up with hard fighting. He would make war with 
^^ the horrible intention of killing men and end the contest as 
"^jy^v^ quickly as possible. Two expeditions were formed, one having 
"^^ & the capture of Atlanta, Georgia, and the other, that of 
Richmond in view. For the first he put General W. T. Sherman in chief 
command, and for the second. General G. G. Meade. The task of the latter 
was to beat the army of General Lee, and the former the army of Johnston. 
These were now the chief armies of the Confederacy, and upon their 
destruction hung the issue of the war. 

The year 1864 began with a series of reverses in the extreme South and 
South-west. The capture of Fort Pillow and the treacherous massacre of its 
o-arrison by General Forest, in April, was a foul blot upon the civilization of 
the age. He sent a flag of truce demanding the surrender of the fort, and 
while it was under consideration secretly arranged his forces to fall upon it 
unexpectedly. This was done with the cry " No quarter," when a large 
number who threw down their arms were butchered in cold blood. Forest 
said in self-defense : " War means fight and fight means kill— we want but few 
prisoners." General Banks was sent up the Red River upon a disastrous 
expedition. Missouri was invaded by a large force which caused considerable 
trouble throughout the summer and was not driven out until November. 
Arkansas had come under the control of the Confederates, and the Union 




1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 351 

citizens who had been making preparations to return the State government to 
the Federals were silenced. The operations in Charleston Harbor were being 
carried on slowly. East Tennessee was the scene of stirring events of minor 
importance, but the country turned from all these to the more sanguinary and 
gigantic operations in Virginia and Georgia. Some movements were 
undertaken in the early spring of 1864, with the design of capturing 
Richmond and releasing the Union prisoners in Libby Prison and on Belle 
Isle. In February, General B. F. Butler sent fifteen hundred troops against 
Richmond, but his design was frustrated by treachery. Later than this 
General Kilpatrick swept around Lee's right flank with five thousand 
cavalry and penetrated the outer defenses of Richmond, but was compelled 
to retire March ist. Another part of the same command was able to enter 
the lines at another point, but were driven back with the loss of Colonel 
Dahlgren and ninety men. General Easton with a considerable force 
threatened to cut Lee's communications with the Shenandoah Valley. But all 
these little forays were only intended to show how hollow the Confederacy 
really was, rather than to accomplish any great result. The two great plans 
of General Grant were to be put into execution later. 

The mistaken opinions in the early part of the war had been corrected 
by bitter experience, and the North and South were alike aware that the fight 
must wage to the end. A well-tried general, in whom the whole North had 
confidence, had assumed command. The volunteer army was no longer a 
mass of citizen militia, but hardened veterans of battle, inured to heavy 
marching and heavy fighting. The spirit of the North was resolute and as 
determined as ever. Grant had his headquarters with the army of the 
Potomac, which had been re-organized and formed into three corps, the 
Second Corps under General Hancock, the Fifth in command of General 
Warren, and the Sixth with the gallant Sedgwick at its head. General 
Burnside with the Ninth Corps, which had been filled up by recruits and 
thoroughly reconstructed during the winter, was attached to the army of the 
Potomac. General Grant ordered Meade in Virginia and Sherman in Georgia 
to advance the beginning of May. We will follow the fortunes of the first. 
The 4th of May the army of the Potomac was led into the region known as 
the Wilderness, to attack the Confederates who were intrenched on Mine 
Run. A fearful carnage in that trackless and tangled country ensued for two 
days; Lee's front could not be carried, and his flank must be turned if 
possible. General Warren led the movement out of the Wilderness with the 
Fifth Corps May 8th, and came to the open country at Spottsylvania, where 
he found a part of Lee's army posted across his path, and the rest of the 
force rapidly concentrating there. The flanking movement had been 
expected by Lee, and he was ready to meet it. On the 9th, General 
Sedgwick was killed while reconnoitering on the front line. The battle 
opened on the loth, and was contested with fearful loss on both sides. On 
the nth Grant sent his famous dispatch to Washington, '' I intend to fight it 
out on this line if it takes all summer." On the 12th Hancock broke Lee's 



352 " ■ ■ THE CIVIL WAR. [1861 

line and gained a decided advantage, but the following night the Confederate 
army silently withdrew behind his second line of intrenchments and was as 
strong as ever. Another flank movement was impending, and Lee made 
an attack to prevent it on May 19th and was repulsed. While these 
operations were going on, General Sheridan made a raid upon Lee's rear with 
a large force of cavalry, and came to within a few miles of Richmond, 
destroying railroads and military supplies. General Sigel was in the 
Shenandoah and Kanawha valleys, and had a fight at New Market May 15th, 
in which the Confederates gained the day. 

General Butler with the army of the James had left Fortress 
Monroe with twenty-five thousand troops in transports, followed by Admiral 
Lee with gun-boats, and they took possession of both sides of the river 
as far as City Point by the aid of fifteen hundred mounted men, who had 
forded the Chickahominy and taken their position on the James opposite 
City Point. This was done with but little fighting, for there were few Confed- 
erates there. Butler fortified Bermuda Hundred and intended to cut 
communication between Petersburg and Richmond. The former city could 
have been easily taken, but for some reason it was not accomplished, 
and the Confederates from South Carolina hastened there to aid in 
its defense. Beauregard got into Petersburg before the railroad was destroyed, 
and on the morning of May i6th attacked Butler's right, and after a 
sharp fight drove his army into their intrenchments. At the same instant a 
charge on Butler's front was repulsed. For several days there was much 
fighting all along his lines. 

Grant's army was moving by the left flank, but Lee had the inside 
line of the parallel circles on the road to Richmond and consequently 
was able to move faster than his antagonist. A heavy battle was fought 
at the North Anna River. Grant was satisfied that he could not carry 
the strong position of Lee, and again resumed his march by the left flank. 
On the 26th of May the whole army was south of the Pawmunkey. 
Lee was again in a fortified position and a heavy battle ensued. " By 
the left flank " again came the order, and the army moved to Cold 
Harbor. Ten thousand men from General Butler's army under command 
of General W. F. Smith re-enforced the army of Meade, and he made an 
advance upon the enemy in front. The fight here on June 3d was 
bloody and short. In twenty minutes the Union army lost ten thousand 
men and only succeeded in holding their own position. The line of 
Lee's army could not be broken. Other attempts to force the lines 
the next day met with similar results, but all the while the Union 
forces were moving by the left flank and June 7th rested on the Chick- 
ahominy. Sheridan crossed the river with his cavalry and tore up the 
railroads and bridges. The whole army moved across the river to Lee's 
right and crossed the James June 14th and 15th. Butler made an 
unsuccessful attempt to take Petersburg before aid could arrive from 
Richmond. The failure to accomplish this disarranged the plans some- 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 353 

what, and caused the long and exhaustive siege of both cities which 
lasted for ten months. Grant established his head-quarters at City Point, 
and on the i6th preparations were made to carry the city of Petersburg 
by assault. Warren, Hancock and Burnside made a desperate attack on 
the lines here, but it was evident that the whole army of Lee was south 
of the James. The assaults of the Union army on the 17th and i8th 
of June resulted in some advantage to the Nationalists, but it was 
plain that the time to take Petersburg by direct advance was past. An 
attempt was now made on the right of the Confederate army to cut 
the Weldon Railroad and turn his flank. The railroad was destroyed as 
far as Ream's Station. The besieging lines of Meade's and Butler's army 
extended from Bermuda Hundred to the Weldon Railroad around Petersburg 
and Richmond. A disastrous attempt to break the Confederate lines at 
Petersburg was made on the 30th of July by exploding a mine under 
a fort on the outpost of the line. This proved a heavy disaster to the 
Union army, in which five thousand troops were lost and no advantage 
gained. September 29th Butler stormed and carried the strongest works 
on Lee's left, known as Fort Harrison. On October 27th an attempt was 
made to extend the Union lines to Hatcher's Run, but after heavy 
fighting the Federal troops were obliged to retire to their fortifications in 
front of Petersburg. Here they settled down for a winter's siege of 
that city. From the opening of the campaign in May to the 1st of November 
the Nationalists had lost in killed, wounded, prisoners and missing, the 
enormous number of one hundred thousand men. 

There were exciting times up the Shenandoah Valley in the summer 
and early fall of this year. A Union army had encountered a Confederate 
force at Winchester July 20th and defeated it, taking many prisoners 
and supplies. Early was in full force up the valley, and so sanguine was 
he that an invading force of cavalry swept through Maryland and burned 
the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Sheridan was sent into the 
valley with thirty thousand troops to repel the invaders. By a series 
of the most brilliant and dashing operations and unexpected movements, 
Sheridan sent the Confederates " whirling up the valley." Then there 
came another battle at Winchester, in which Early was driven to his 
strong position at Fisher's Hill September 19th. He was forced from the 
new position the 21st and fled to the mountains. Early had less than 
one-half the men now that came with him into the valley. Sheridan 
had his position at Cedar Creek near Strasburg, and Early, who had been 
re-enforced heavily, now came with crushing effect upon the Union army at a 
time " when Sheridan was twenty miles away." The lines were driven back, 
in great confusion. The Eleventh Corps were not able to withstand the 
fierce onslaught of Early's men. Sheridan hastened to the scene of battle, 
reformed the broken lines, and riding along the regiments and brigades 
with cheers encouraged his men to victory, regained the lost ground, and 
swept the Confederates in hopeless flight up the Shenandoah. Early's 



3S4 THE CIVIL WAR. , [1861 

army was nearly annihilated and Lee could spare no more men. This 
ended the contest for the fertile valley which had been overrun so often 
by the opposing forces — Sheridan had burned and destroyed on every hand 
— such was the stern necessity of war — and the Confederates could no 
more gain the abundant supplies that they found in the rich valley, 
which for years had been the store-house of their armies. 

The beginning of May, when General Grant ordered the two great 
armies to move, Sherman was at Chattanooga with about one hundred 
thousand men. His antagonist was General Johnston, with fifty-five 
thousand troops, who was at Dalton strongly intrenched. Sherman's plan 
was to move by the left flank and compel the Confederates to abandon one 
strong position after another in order to save their army, A sharp fight 
took place at Resaca Station May 15th, which drove Johnston across the 
Oostenaula. The Union army closely followed in three divisions. At 
Adairsville, Johnston made a stand, but when the Federals advanced he 
pushed on and fortified a position commanding the Altoona Pass. After 
resting a little Sherman moved forward to the right, and had a severe contest 
May 25th. This was a drawn battle, without advantage to either side. June 
1st, Johnston was forced to abandon the Altoona Pass. Sherman took 
possession of this and made it a second base of supplies by repairing the 
railroad to Chattanooga. He here received reinforcements. June 9th he 
took possession of Big Shanty, and by persistency and frequent fighting 
forced Johnston to give up Pine Mountain June 15th, Lost Mountain June 
17th, and Kenesaw Mountain July 2d. On the morning of July 3d, the 
stars and stripes waved over the last mentioned mountain, and Sherman rode 
in triumph into Marietta, close upon the heels of Johnston's army. The 
Confederates succeeded in crossing the river here before Sherman could give 
them a crushing blow. Johnston was obliged to retreat July loth, toward 
Atlanta, Georgia. He fortified his army on a line covering that town from 
the Chattahooche River to Peachtree Creek. He knew that his force was 
less than that of the Nationals, and therefore he preferred to save his army 
rather than risk an engagement. He had already had a number of severe 
encounters, and had been worsted in them all. General Johnston was here 
relieved of the command of the Confederate army, and superseded by 
General Hood. The former was a cautious, scientific soldier, while the latter 
was a dashing, reckless officer, who did not care for the loss of men if he 
could make quick work. July i6th, General Rousseau, with two thousand 
cavalry, joined Sherman. On the 19th, all the Union forces were across the 
river. A flank movement was made to cut the railroad leading to Augusta. 
This was accomplished. On the 20th, Hood attacked the weakened lines in 
front, but was repulsed with heavy loss. On the 22d, the Confederate lines 
on the heights about Peachtree Creek were abandoned, and Sherman thought 
that Hood, like Johnston had evacuated the city, and consequently moved 
his army rapidly toward Atlanta. He found Hood in a strong line of 
works near the city, which had been built the year before. Preparations 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 355 

were made for carrying the city by assault, when a large part of Hood's 
army, which had come around Sherman's rear in the night, fell upon him, and 
a most sanguinary and hotly contested battle raged for four hours. The 
Union army was successful, and the Confederates were driven back to their 
breastworks. July 28th, Hood made another attack upon Sherman but was 
repulsed with heavy loss, and seeing that the Unionists were gradually 
getting possession of all the railroads leading from the city, after a month 
of counter maneuvering the Confederate general abandoned Atlanta, having 
destroyed all factories, warehouses and whatever would be of advantage to 
the enemy. He left no food for the inhabitants, who were on the point of 
starvation. Sherman took possession, and not being able to feed the 
citizens and his own army, humanely ordered all non-combatants to leave 
the city, either for the North or South, as they might choose. He furnished 
transportation for all who wished to go to Chattanooga. 

Hood, after leaving Atlanta, moved upon Sherman's base of supplies at 
Altoona Pass, and threatened the small force there. Sherman sent to 
their assistance, and drove the army of Hood with great slaughter. Then 
he returned to Atlanta with all his troops, destroying all foundries, 
dismantling the railroads, and preparing to cut loose from his base of 
supplies. His army numbered sixty-five thousand men of all kinds. He 
cut the wires which connected him with the North, and started on his grand 
march to the sea. The people in the North did not hear from him for some 
time except through the newspapers of the South, and this was far from 
being reliable. His army was divided into two great columns ; one under 
General O. O. Howard, the other under General W. H. Slocum, with the 
cavalry in command of General Kilpatrick. Nothing was heard from this 
army until December 13th, when it appeared before Savannah and captured 
Fort McAllister, on the Ogeechee River, not far from that city. Savannah 
was invested at once, and on the 20th, Hardee evacuated it and fled to 
Charleston with fifty thousand troops. The army of Georgia entered the 
city the next day and there rested, after a march of two hundred and fifty- 
five miles, inflicting veiy heavy loss upon the Confederates and sustaining 
but little loss in return. 

Some active measures were going on in Florida and North Carolina 
during this time, but the most interest was centered upon the two grand 
armies. In September and October there were some interesting events, and 
after considerable skirmishing on both sides there was a general engagement 
at Franklin, in which the Confederate forces at first drove their antagonists 
from their breastworks, and were in turn driven back, Hood the 
Confederate general, lost three thousand men. On the 15th of December, 
a desperate battle was fought in front of Nashville, where Hood was 
besieging Scofield. The attack was opened by General Thomas, who drove 
the Confederates from their works and pursued them out of the State. The 
campaign ended with complete success for the Union army. 

The Anglo-Confederate privateers were doing immense damage to ouf 



356 THE CIVIL WAR. [1861 

commerce in all parts of the world. The first and chief was the Alabama, in 
command of a former United States navy officer, Captain Raphael Semmes. 
The English also built for the Confederates the Florida, Georgia^ 
Tallahassee, Oliistce and CJiickamaugay all of which were committing great 
depredations upon the vessels and cargoes of American ship-owners. This 
drove a large part of our maritime commerce to seek the protection of foreig*., 
flags. A stupendous effort was made to capture and destroy these cruisers. 
The Georgia was captured off the coast of Lisbon in August, 1864, by the 
United States vessel Niagara ; the Florida by the Wachusett^ October 7th, in 
a pctft of Brazil. The Alabama had been sunk some time before this by the 
Kearsarge. Captain Semmes was rescued from capture by a British vessel 
which was conveniently near at hand, but the "common people" were left to 
drown or be picked up by the American vessel and a Frenchman. This had 
occurred Sunday June, 19th. 

Admiral Farragut had captured the port of Mobile with a fleet of 
eighteen vessels aided by a land force under General Gordon Granger. This 
fleet passed between the two forts, Morgan and Gaines, lashed together in 
pairs, August 5th, 1864. It was in this engagement that the brave admiral 
was lashed to the rigging of his flag-ship. The Confederate ram Tennessee 
was destroyed and a complete victory gained. The forts were surrendered 
after cannonading and siege. Fort Gaines on the 7th and Fort Morgan 
on the 23d of August. The port of Mobile was closed. 

We will turn for a brief space from the consideration of military to 
political affairs. The National Republican party had met in a convention at 
Baltimore, in June, and nominated Mr. Lincoln for re-election, affirmed its 
determination to maintain the Union and the policy of his government, and 
pledged themselves to sustain it to the end. Andrew Johnson was 
nominated for the Vice-Presidency. 

August 29th the opposition party, or " Democratic," as it was called, opened 
at Chicago, and displayed an intense anti-war feeling. George B. McClellan 
was nominated for the Presidency and George H. Pendleton for Vice- 
President. The resolution that declared the war a failure was scarcely dry 
upon the paper before the people of the United States were called to devote 
a day to thanksgiving and praise for the glorious victories of Sherman 
and Farragut. The election resulted in the most overwhelming majorities 
for Lincoln and Johnson. Only the three States of Delaware, Kentucky 
and New Jersey gave their votes to the opposition. 



1865] 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



357 




THE CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR-1865. 

HE year that saw the closing operations of the civil 
strife had come, and General Sherman, after giving his 
gallant army a rest of more than a month, started for a 
march into the interior. On the 17th of February, 1865, 
he captured Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. 
Wade Hampton had ordered all the cotton in that city 
to be piled in the public square and burned. In the 
severe gale which was then blowing the city was set on fire and 
destroyed in part. Sherman had now flanked the city of 
Charleston, which so long had withstood the most persistent 
l^ajijE siege, and in consequence the Confederates abandoned it. 
II^MC H^^^^^ ^^^ f^o"^ th^ city ^"d the United States colored troops 
^ marched in and raised the stars and stripes upon the public 
buildings February 19th. Sherman pressed onward to North 
Carolina, leaving a track of destruction forty miles wide, until 
he came to Fayetteville, March 12th, where he found the 
concentrated forces under Johnston, numbering forty thousand. 
Sherman here halted three days for rest. After destroying the Confederate 
armory and the military stores, he marched on in two columns, as when in 
Georgia. The column under Slocum had a severe iight with Hardee's force 
of twenty thousand men, and won the victory March i6th. Slocum marched 
on toward Goldsboro', and was attacked by Johnston, whom he repulsed near 
Bentonville March i8th. Johnston had fully expected to crush Slocum 
before the main body could come to his aid, but that commander held his 
ground firmly, and after six desperate attempts to drive him back, Johnston 
gave up the contest at night fall. The next morning, the 19th, there were 
sixty thousand Federals in front of Johnston, who retreated. Sherman's 
whole army then reached Goldsboro', the point for which they had started. 
Sherman then hastened to City Point to confer with Grant and Meade, and 
returned to his command three days later. Here we will leave him for a 
while. 

After closing the port of Mobile, the only port left to which the blockade 
runners could gain access was Wilmington, North Carolina. A movement was 
made in December, 1864. Admiral D. D. Porter was in command of the 
fleet, and General Butler, the commander of that department, accompanied it. 
After various attempts the expedition was successful and took possession of 
the city. The Confederates had abandoned Fort Anderson, destroyed the 
privateers Tallahassee and Chickaniauga, lying in port, burned a vast 
amount of cotton and naval stores, and fled from the city February 22d, 
1865. In the Gulf Department the fleet under Farragut had prepared the 
way for the fall of Mobile, which was accomplished April 2d, 1865. What 



358 • THE CIVIL WAR. [1861 

were the army of the Potomac and General Lee's forces doing all this while? 
Let us see. 

Grant was holding Petersburg and Richmond in a vise-like grip, which 
prevented Lee from going to the assistance of Johnston. He dared not send 
him any men, for in so doing he woidd weaken the deiense of the Confederate 
capital. The besiegers were pounding away with solid shot, and mortar 
shells upon the fortifications around the doomed cities, and daily extending 
the cordon around them, and cutting one after another of the railroads which 
fed them from the south. About the end of February, Sheridan with ten 
thousand cavalry left their head-quarters, and sweeping around Lee's flank 
scattered the forces under Early from Staunton March 2d, and destroyed the 
Lynchburg Railroad as far as Charlotteville. Then dividing into two columns, 
one to destroy the railroad further up and the other to destroy the James 
River Canal, accomplishing this, he swept around Lee's left and joined the 
army of the Potomac March 27th. 

Lee now made a desperate attempt to break through Grant's lines and 
join Johnston. A most desperate assault was made March 27th upon Fort 
Steadman, in front of Petersburg, held by the Ninth Corps. The Con- 
federates captured the fort and held it about four hours : then it was 
recaptured by the Federals, and Lee's last chance to break the Union lines 
was gone. The Union troops were nearer the city at night than when the 
attack was made in the morning. A grand movement was begun on March 
29th by General Sheridan with ten thousand cavalry, the Fifth Corps under 
Warren, and the Second under Hancock, while the Ninth, under Parke, held 
the long line of breast works. Lee saw his peril and made great haste to 
avert it if possible, but his army was disheartened by the hard work of the 
winter, the want of supplies, and the loss of all hope. A heavy fight ensued 
at Five Forks, in which Sheridan was forced back on Dinwiddle Court House, 
but held his ground, April ist, 1865. On the evening of the same day a 
continuous and concentrated cannonade was opened upon Petersburg all 
along the line, and at early dawn of the 2d a part of the works were carried. 
The left had been successful, and when General Longstreet came down from 
Richmond to aid Lee he was too late to be of any service. Lee sent word 
to President Davis : " My lines are broken in three places ; we can hold 
Petersburg no longer: Richmond must be evacuated this evening." Davis 
and his cabinet fled to Dansville, where Lee hoped to join him, but Sheridan 
was in the way at Amelia Court House. Lee endeavored to escape and did 
some heavy fighting in the desperation of despair, but on the 9th of April, 
after one final charge to break the Federal lines at Appomatox Court House, 
he sent a flag of truce with an offer of surrender. Grant and Lee met under 
an apple tree on the grounds of W. McLean to make generous terms of 
surrender. 

Mr. Lincoln went to Richmond April 4th, and was enthusiastically 
received by all classes, the officers high in rank, and the poor colored men, 
and then returned to Washington happy that the cruel wnr was over. On the 



1865] THE CIVIL WAR. 359 

evening of the 14th, while the patient man who had enqjured the most fearful 
strain of these anxious years, was quietly sitting in a private box in a public 
place of amusement, he was shot by an assassin, who entered from behind and 
deliberately aimed his revolver at his unsuspecting victim. John Wilkes 
Booth, a play actor of moderate ability, and a warm secessionist, was the 
actor in this diabolical crime. The Confederate government were not 
responsible for the act, much less the brave men who had contested so many 
hard fought battles with the North. No man was found to openly applaud 
the act save here and there a solitary voice in the North, which was quickly 
hushed by the intense popular excitement of the times. Andrew Johnson 
took the oath of President April 15, 1865, and entered at once upon the 
discharge of his duties. After some active operations in North Carolina 
Johnston asked for an armistice, proposing to refer the matter of settlement 
of grievances to General Grant. The armistice was granted the 14th day of 
April, but the idea that the defeated chieftain should dictate terms caused 
Grant to order a resumption of hostilities on the 26th. This was followed by 
the surrender of Johnston on the same generous terms that had been given 
General Lee. The fugitive President of the Confederacy was captured at 
Irwinsville, Georgia, May iith, and sent to Fortress Monroe, and there he was 
treated with marked kindness, until he was released under bail placed at one 
million dollars. 

Lieutenant-General Grant issued a patriotic and thrilling farewell address 
to the "Soldiers of the Armies of the United States," June 2d, 1865. The 
military prisons, where tens of thousands of Confederate prisoners of war 
were held for exchange, were opened and the men were sent to their homes 
at Government expense. The millions of liberated blacks were cared for by 
Government, and the nation, happy that peace had again dawned upon the 
distracted country, were loud in their demonstrations of joy. 

The most brilliant pageantry of modern times was held in Washington, 
consisting of a grand review of the Union armies of the Potomac and of 
the James, and of Sherman's army. This lasted two days, and then the 
task of disbanding the mighty Union army began. The rolls were made 
out, the arms were stacked, the artillery parked, and flags were furled. In 
an incredibly short time the hundreds of thousands of boys in blue had 
donned the garb of private citizens and returned to the avocations of peace. 
The great work of putting down armed resistance to the Government had 
been accomplished, and now the peaceful question of regulating the 
commercial, political and social relations of the States late in arms would 
be settled in the halls of Congress. 




ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 



HAT was the position of these States which had 
passed the ordinance of secession ? The war had 
closed, but it had been rnaintained by the North that 
the States were all the while an integral part of the 
Union and had no power to dissolve their allegiance 
to it. What was to be done ? Should their territory- 
be held as if it had been conquered from a foe? 
They had endeavored to sever the bonds that bound them to the 
Government but had been prevented by the firm hand of armed 
law. They now claimed the right to resume their old places in 
Congress as if they had never attempted to secede. What should 
be done? The Proclamation of Emancipation had given freedom 
only to those slaves whose masters were in arms on the first day 
of January, 1863. There were many others whose owners could 
hold them under that proclamation, but many of the slave States 
removed this impediment of their own account. Louisiana, Maryland, 
Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas had abolished it within their borders. 
An amendment to the Constitution of the United States had been submitted 
to the several States and adopted, in 1865, by more than the required 
number to make it a part of that instrument. 

Another amendment was submitted to the States, giving the fullest 
rights of American citizenship to all natural-born citizens and naturalized 
citizens of the United States. This was made the condition for the restora- 
tion of rights to those men who were seeking to return to their old position 
of citizenship. The questions growing out of all this were most delicate, 
and required the careful consideration of patriots; but the institution which 
had caused all the controversy of the past, all the bloodshed and ruin which 
had come to both sections of the country, must be thoroughly eradicated 
now, and leave no seeds to spring up in after years. So the men who had 
won the fight thought, and the men who had yielded " to the stern necessity 
of war " came to accept the situation with what grace they could, and slowly 
the work went on to its completion. 

April 29th, 1865, President Johnson issued a proclamation removing 
certain restrictions on commercial intercourse with the Southern States. 
May 20th, provisional governors were appointed for the States of North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. The 
order for rescinding the blockade was issued the 23d of June, another to still 



i866] RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 361 

further remove the restriction on inter-state commerce August 29th. State 
prisoners were released October 12th. The "habeas corpus" was restored 
December ist. 

The provisional governors in the States, who were zealous to do all that 
could be done to reorganize their States, called conventions of delegates, 
chosen by cftizens, who could take the oath required by the act of Congress. 
Before the session of Congress had met in December five States had ratified 
the proposed amendment to the Constitution, formed new State Constitutions, 
and provided for Representatives to Congress. 

When Congress met there arose at once a conflict between the President 
and the Legislative Department. This breach widened until it became an 
open rupture. The Cabinet resigned, with the exception of the Secretary of 
War, E. M. Stanton, who was advised to remain by his friends. On April 
2d, 1866, the Executive issued his proclamation declaring that the civil war 
was at an end. Tennessee was finally restored to the Union July 23d. 

There had been a French occupation of Mexico, in which Maximillian 
had assumed to be emperor of that country during the years of the war. 
On the 5th of April, 1865, our Government had informed the French Emperor 
that the continuation of the French troops in Mexico was objectionable, and 
at once the assurance came that they would be withdrawn. Trouble arose 
with Great Britain over the Fenian question, but it was peaceably adjusted. 

The elections throughout the Northern States showed that the people 
sustained the policy of Congress. The act conferring the elective franchise 
upon all citizens in the District of Columbia was passed December 14th. 
This was vetoed by the President, but passed over his veto by more than a 
two-thirds vote January 7th, 1867. The same day the preliminary steps 
were taken for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
States, which resulted in a trial before the Senate, with the Chief Justice 
presiding, in May, 1868. 

The territory of Nebraska was admitted into the Union March ist, 1867. 
There was intense excitement over several bills which the President vetoed 
and Congress at once passed over his veto. The thirty-ninth Congress closed 
its session March 3d and the fortieth Congress met at once. This Congress 
adjourned on March 31st, to meet on the first Wednesday in July. This was 
done, and then the two Houses adjourned July 20th, to meet again November 
2 1st. In the mean time the President attempted to remove E. M. Stanton, 
Secretary of War, who refused to resign. General Grant was ordered to 
assume the office, which he did. The controversy went on until the impeach- 
ment of the President, and the trial lasted from March 5th to April 26th, 
when he escaped conviction by only one vote. Two-thirds of all the votes 
cast are required to convict. Every member was present. Thirty-five voted 
guilty and nineteen voted not guilty. 

The Secretary of State certified to the fact that the required number of 
States had adopted the amendment to the Constitution conferring civil rights 
upon all citizens, without regard to race or color. 



362 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



[1869 



The work of reorganization was completed in all the States save three, 
and the people of the South were betaking themselves to the task of 
retrieving their ruined fortunes, and thus comparative quiet was restored. 

An important treaty with China was ratified by Congress before its 
adjournment. The Indian question had caused some discussion, and an 
attempt to transfer the conduct of these affairs to the War Department failed. 

A fifteenth amendment was proposed by Congress February 26th, 1869, 
and submitted to the States, the requisite number of which ratified it soon 
after. 

General U. S. Grant was elected President of the United States, and 
Schuyler Colfax Vice-President, at the election of 1868, and on the 4th of 
March, 1869, took their oaths of ofifice and entered upon the discharge of 
their duties. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

" RESIDENT GRANT entered upon the task of 
finishing the incomplete work of reconstruction at 
once, and sent a special message to Congress April 
7th, 1869, in which he urged that body to adopt 
and maintain such measures as would effectually 
secure the civil and political rights of all persons 
within the borders of the States not yet in full 
relations to the Union. Both the Executive and Legisla- 
tive Departments took every means in their power consist- 
ent with the provisions of the amended Constitution to 
restore the people who were not yet represented in the 
National Congress to this position. This was finally accom- 
plished in 1872, when, on the 23d day of May, every seat 
that had been abdicated in 1861 by members from the Southern 
States was filled by legally elected members. May 22d a 
general Amnesty Bill was passed by Congress, removing the 
disabilities imposed by the Fourteenth Amendment from all 
persons, with the exceptions of those who had held positions in the 
National Government, the diplomatic corps, and the army and navy of 
the United States during the administration of James Buchanan. The 
political unity of the whole country was now established by law, and 
the rights of American citizenship conferred upon all native born and 
naturalized persons within the borders of the United States, with the 
exception of the comparative few mentioned above. 

The last tie which completed the railroad from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific was laid May loth, 1869, and marked an important event in 
the social and commercial life of the United States. By this the States 
on the eastern sea-board and the distant Pacific coast were brought 




18/7] RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 363 

together, and a grand highway opened to communicate with the over- 
land trade from China and Japan. There was a general rejoicing as the 
last spike was driven, for communication was made with the entire 
telegraph system of the country, and the blows of the hammer was 
recorded in thousands of offices in all parts of the land. 

A gigantic insurrection arose in Cuba with which many citizens of 
the United States were in close sympathy, but the Government wisel}' 
maintained neutrality, and measures were taken to suppress all fillibus- 
tering. A number of gunboats ordered by the Spanish Government were 
detained in the United States on suspicion that they Avere to be used 
against Peru. They were released. There arose quite intense excitement, 
and war was threatened, growing out of the seizure of the steamship 
Virginiiis in Cuba while flying the American flag, under the belief that 
she was bringing arms and supplies to the Cuban insurgents. A number 
of her passengers and her captain were shot by the Spanish authorities. 
The whole matter was finally settled by diplomacy. The Virginius was sunk 
at sea while being conveyed to the United States in a gale off Cape Fear. 

There was a violation of the neutrality laws in 1870 by a large 
band of Irishmen known as Fenians, who assembled to the number of 
three thousand on the borders of Canada in the State of Vermont. 
They invaded that province with the intention of freeing Ireland by 
some vague plan. The two governments suppressed the trouble, and our 
adopted Irish citizens have not since then attempted to violate the 
neutrality laws in force between the two countries. 

The United States had long desired some territory in the West 
Indies, and in 1869 a treaty was made with Hayti by which that island 
was to be annexed to the United States ; but the Senate did not ratify 
it, and thus the movement in that direction ceased to be a government 
measure. The survey of a proposed inter-oceanic canal across th^^ Isthmus 
of Darien was made by an exploration under Commander Selfridge 
in 1870. 

The year 1871 saw two of the most destructive fires, amounting to 
a national calamity, that ever visited this country. In October of that 
year the greater portion of Chicago was swept by the flames, which raged 
for forty-eight hours and devastated two thousand acres of territory and 
destroyed two hundred millions of property. This disaster called forth 
the sympathy and material aid of the whole civilized and commercial 
world. The next month, November, the fire-fiend swept away the very 
center of Boston, destroying seventy-five millions of dollars. 

President Grant found at the opening of his first term the question 
of the Alabama claims an open one with the English Government. A 
joint commission was proposed by the United States, and England agreed. 
This "joint high commission" met at Washington May 8th, 1871, and 
completed a treaty, referring the whole matter at issue to a court of 
arbitration : this treaty was at once ratified by both countries. There 



364 RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. [1869 

were four important questions involved: ist. The settlement of all claims 
by either government growing out of losses sustained during the Civil 
War. 2d. The permanent settlement of the American coast fisheries. 3d. 
The free navigation of certain rivers, including the St. Lawrence, and, 
4th. The settlement of the boundary between Vancouver's Island and the 
mainland on the Pacific coast. The first question was referred to a 
tribunal of arbitration, which met at Geneva, Switzerland, December 
15th, 1871, and adjourned to June 15th, 1872. The final meeting of this 
tribunal was held September 14th, 1872. By their award Great Britain 
was to pay to the United States the sum of fifteen million five hundred 
thousand dollars in gold, as an award for losses sustained by the depre- 
dations of the Alabama and other British-built privateers during the 
Civil War. The money was paid the following year. The fourth ques- 
tion was referred to the Emperor of Germany, who decided in favor of 
the United States, giving her the island of San Juan, which had been 
in dispute. 

The other important measures and events of General Grant's first 
term were the adoption of weather signals by the means of the Morse 
telegraph under control of the National Signal Service. This has proved 
of inestimable value to American commerce and agriculture. The 
apportionment of representatives to Congress, by which there was one 
representative to every one hundred and thirty-seven thousand eight hundred 
population, making two hundred and eighty-three members in all. A 
new pension law was passed in aid of all Union soldiers who had 
suffered the loss of limbs or health in the late war. Early in 1873 the 
franking privilege was abolished, by which much money was saved to 
the Post-Office Department. In r872 an important embassy of twenty- 
one officials of the Chinese Government visited the United States, and 
the Gr^nd Duke Alexis of Russia also came to this country. Steps 
were taken to celebrate the centennial anniversary of American inde- 
pendence, which would occur in 1876, by a display at Philadelphia of 
the industries of all nations. 

The political campaign of 1872 was begun in May by the nomina- 
tion of Horace Greeley for President and B. Gratz Brown for Vice- 
President by a convention of "liberal Republicans." The Democratic 
party coalesced with them and ratified the same nominations July 9th. 
The Republicans re-nominated General Grant for President and Henry 
Wilson for Vice-President June 5th. The election resulted in retaining 
General Grant for a second term and making Mr. Wilson Vice-President. 

The relation of the troublesome Morman question to the general 
government agitated the public mind to some extent during this time. 
The system of polygamy was strongly intrenched in the very heart of 
the Continent, and a petition signed by twenty-five hundred women in 
its favor was presented to Congress. The elective franchise had been 
given to the female sex, and out of a large vote in favor of a S'^ate 



i877j RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 365 

Constitution nearly one-half were cast by women. There had been 
population enough in Utah for some time, but the Congress of the 
United States refused to admit her with the system of polygamy. 

The second term of General Grant as President began March 4th, 1873, 
and his nominations for Cabinet officers was at once confirmed by the Senate. 
The country was prosperous and rapidly recuperating from the sad effects of 
the war. The improvement in the feelings between the South and North 
was very marked, growing out of the leniency with which the Government 
treated those lately in arms against it. 

The Indian troubles assumed unusual proportions during the second term 
of Grant's administration. The humane policy inaugurated at the beginning 
of his first term had not resulted in all that was hoped for it. The trouble 
seemed to be in the fact that the Government treated the tribes of Indians as 
distinct nations, and made treaties with them, appointed agents and com- 
missioners, supplied them with bounties and subsidies, and compelled them 
to remain upon reservations set apart for them. The men who were acting 
as Indian agents were not always true men, and caused ill feelings on the part 
of the red men. Not far from three hundred thousand Indians are living in 
the States, of whom ninety-seven thousand are civilized and one hundred and 
twenty-five thousand half civilized. The remainder are in a savage state. 

General Custer was sent into the Dakota region in 1874 with a military 
and exploration expedition, and gave such a glowing account of the country as 
to excite the mining population to enter and prospect for the precious metals 
in great numbers. At the close of 1874 a bill was introduced into Congress 
to extinguish as much of the title to the Black Hills reservation as lay within 
the territory of Dakota. This greatly irritated the chiefs of the Sioux, for 
they, with great show of justice, regarded it as a step toward robbing them 
of their lawful domain. A national geologist, guarded by a large military 
escort, went to this region early in 1875, and the Indians began preparations 
for war. A strong force of troops was sent to the Yellowstone early in 1876, 
and were divided into three divisions, General A. H. Terry in chief command. 
The three columns were commanded by Generals Terry, Cooke and Gibbon^ 
and intended to form the meshes of a net into which they expected to ensnare 
Sitting Bull, the warlike chief of the Sioux. General Gibbon had a fight 
with the Indians June 17th, in which he was obliged to fall back. General 
Custer, with General Terry and his staff, joined Gibbon on the Yellowstone,, 
near Rise Bub Creek. Custer was ordered to make an attack with his force, 
which consisted of the Seventh United States Cavalry. He and Gibbon 
advanced to the Big Horn River, and Custer, coming up with the Indians first, 
gave them battle without waiting for Gibbon, and falling into an Indian 
ambush was killed, with the greater part of his men. Many gallant officers 
and men were slain in this terrible encounter, including Custer and two of his 
brothers and a brother-in-law. 

This was June 25th, 1876, and at once the Government sent a large force 
to this region. The Sioux evaded a contest with them and the troops went 



366 RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. [1869 

into winter quarters. Sitting Bull with his followers retired to the British 
Possessions, whither the United States troops could not follow him. 

The Government had a war with the Nez-Perce (or nose-pierced) Indians 
in 1875. They had been a peaceable and friendly tribe since the time of 
Jefferson, when the early explorers had come to their country, and were living 
happy and contented in the fertile Wallewa Valley. When agents were first 
sent to them they had been a little' dissatisfied, but there had been no out- 
break. Now the settlers had begun to crowd upon them, and treaties were 
made with a part of the tribe to remove to a reservation, upon the Govern- 
ment paying them a certain fixed annuity. But an old chief, by the name of 
Joseph, who had taken no part in the treaty, refused to leave, and in 1873 
Grant had ordered that they should not be molested. When the avaricious 
whites began to encroach upon the domains of this tribe the President was 
induced to revoke this order, and in J 875 a force was sent to compel 
them to move at a given time. Before the time came Joseph became 
incensed at the encroachments of the white settlers and about twenty whites 
were murdered. War was begun, and lasted until the Indians were forced 
again to make a humiliating treaty in 1877. These measures embittered that 
part of the tribe which had not entered the war, and they became enemies of 
the Government. 

Sitting Bull, who had gone to the British Possessions with his warriors in 
1876, was an unwelcome guest there, but he remained stubborn and sullen. 
The United States sent several commissioners to treat with him, but he 
regarded them with contempt until 1880. The British authorities had informed 
him that if he attempted to cross into the United States with hostile inten- 
tions that Government would join with the United States in making war 
upon him. Finally he offered, in 1880, to surrender with his braves, and a 
thousand of them did so in the early part of 1881, but their wily chieftain did 
not give himself up until some time later. Colorado, the " Centennial State," 
was admitted into the Union July 4th, 1876. 

The year 1876 was the " centennial year" and the year for a Presidential 
election. The celebration of the new year was very general throughout the 
United States with bonfires and the ringing of bells as the old year and 
century passed. The events of the political arena were the impeachment of 
Mr. Belknap, Secretary of War, for maladministration of office. He was 
acquitted in August. A resolution for submitting another amendment to the 
Constitution was passed in the House, but defeated in the Senate. At the 
end of June a resolution to provide for the coinage of ten millions of silver 
was passed, and very quickly silver became plenty. The fractional currency, 
which had come in use during the war, at once disappeared from circulation. 
June 16th Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated by the Republican party for 
the Presidency and William A. Wheeler for Vice-President. The 27th of 
the same month the Democratic party nominated Samuel J. Tilden and 
Thomas A. Hendricks for the same offices respectively, and a most exciting 
canvass was carried on until November, of which we will speak hereafter. 



i877] 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



367 




THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. 

'HERE had been a wide-spread desire to celebrate the 
centennial year in some way in which all nations could 
rejoice with the young Republic of the West. It was 
proposed to hold a gigantic exposition of the arts, 
manufactures and industries of all nations at Phila- 
delphia. Invitations were sent to other governments 
and were very generally accepted. The early inception 
of the plan was opened by the communication of the Franklin 
Institute to the Mayor and other authorities of Philadelphia 
for the use of Fairmount Park for an international exhibition. 
A committee of seven members of the municipal government 
proceeded to lay the subject before Congress. At the same 
time the Legislature of Pennsylvania sent a committee to 
Washington for the same purpose. March 3d, 1871, an act 
was passed empowering the President to appoint a commission 
for superintending the exhibition, and an alternate commission 
from each State and Territory in the Union. These com. 
missions met at Philadelphia, March 4th, 1872, and found twenty-four States 
and three Territories represented there. "The United States Centennial 
Commission" was organized by the choice of Joseph R. Hawley, of Con- 
necticut, as president, with five vice-presidents, a temporary secretary, an 
executive committee and a solicitor. John S. Campbell afterward became 
permanent secretary. A Centennial Board of Finance was appointed 
in 1873, and on the 4th day of July of that year the authorities formally 
surrendered the grounds to the commission. 

There were five grand buildin;-" erected, the Main Building, Art Gallery, 
Machinery Hall, Agricultural HaH and Horticultural HaH. The applications 
for space from foreign governments was so great that it was seen that the 
work done by women would be thrown out or lost in the maze of other 
exhibits, and therefore the women of America raised thirty thousand dollars 
to build a Woman's Pavilion. The first five buildings named covered, in the 
aggregate, seventy-five acres of ground, and cost the sum of four milHon four 
hundred and forty-four thousand doHars. There were besides these men- 
tioned a number of other buildings erected by the several States and Terri- 
tories and by foreign nations, as well as by individual exhibitors, in all 
amounting to one hundred and ninety. 

At the beginning of 1876 there were lacking funds to the amount of 
one and a half millions to make it a success upon the plan that every one 
interested thought should be carried out. Congress advanced the money, 
with the proviso that it should be returned out of the proceeds of the 
Exposition. 

The exhibition was formally opened on the designated day, May loth, 



368 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



[1869 



with imposing ceremonies. Tlie President of the United States received the 
presentation of the ground and buildings from the President of the 
Centennial Commission, and the Stars and Stripes were unfurled upon the 
Main Building, to signify that the Exposition was opened to the public. The 

total number of ad- 
m iss ions to the 
grounds was 9,910,965, 
at an admission fee of 
fifty cents each. The 
month of October 
there were 2,663,911 
persons passed the 
several gates. Thirty- 
six States had exhi- 
bits, and most of the 
foreign governments. 
We will speak of the 
material effects of this 
Exposition further on. 
The day of the 
national election came, 
and the result was in 
ENGINE ROOM OF EXPOSITION. great doubt, owing to 

two sets of returns from each of the States of Louisiana, Florida 
and South Carolina. Both parties claimed the presidency, and for the 
first time in the history of the country each party claimed the election of 
its candidate. One hundred and eighty-five votes in the Electoral College were 
necessary to a choice. It was at once conceded that Mr. Tilden had one 
hundred and eighty-four. Representative men from both parties went to the 
questionable States to watch the official counting of the votes. Excitement 
ran high, and there were muttered threats of bloodshed and revolution. The 
United States troops in Louisiana and South Carolina were under orders 
November loth to be in instant readiness to preserve the peace. The air of 
Washington was filled by mutual accusations and charges of fraud. The 
way to settle the matter in such a contingency was not clearly defined by the 
Constitution, and it was at length agreed to submit the decision of the 
question to an Electoral Commission, composed of an equal number of both 
parties. A committee similarly constituted was to report a bill to put this in 
effect. January 1 8th, 1877, they reported the bill, which provided that five 
members from the House and five from the Senate, with five justices of the 
Supreme Court, should constitute the Commission, to be presided over by the 
justice longest in commission. Both parties agreed that the decision of the 
board should be final. The bill was passed and signed by the President 
January 29th. The next day the Senate appointed Messrs. Edmonds, Morton, 
Frelinghuysen, Thurman, and Bayard. The first three were Republicans, the 




IS77] RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS .5 

and the othe. RepubHcans. jS<Z!'f^:Z''c£::;^^^-;^-^- 
Strong were appointed, and they chose Joseph P. Bradley for the fiffhrf 
met m the Hall of Representatives Februarv isf ,nH ^ ""^ 

nearly the time for the session o close March .H 7'" .''"'"^ ""'" 
Rutherford B. Hayes duly elected PresidTn't ff^t ij'n'ite^d tates!" '"''""' 

ADMINISTRATION OF RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 

*"i; "'"f "7* I'.'-^Ment was inaugurated March 5th, 
■877, Chief Justice Waite administering the oath o 
office. He nominated his Cabinet, and the names were 

±°r '"", "'"^ ^^ "^' ^<="="<=- "<= began with a 

kmdly conahatory policy toward the South, and en. 

deavored by every means to produce the best of feelings 

among the citizens of the distracted States He 

appomted Mr Key, of Tennessee, one of the militar^ leader 

m he Confederate army, Postmaster-General. The Jnited 

States troops were removed from the Southern States, and left 

lead"rr'Hro? ''"!; '''T '" "'^ ''^"* «' their ;w„ civ 
leaders. He pronounced m favor of civil service reform An 

srberrh t:": '°'''T) "°"^^"^ '^^ - ™"'^^ 

ucober 15th, l8/8, to provide for a deficiency of $u 000000 
which had not been appropriated to pay the expe'r; ol 
mihtary service .„ the army. The object was not attained fo 
^ u- . . "" '^'""'"S partisan character consumed the t me 

and showed a disposition to block the wheels of government. TbHl oppred 
to Chinese emigration was passed by Congress and vetoed by the President 
and he opposition, having the power, failed to pass the appropriation b ,1 ' 
Another special session was called, to convene March ,8thf .879 hen t 
House passed appropriation bills with such obnoxious provisions for 
extraneous matters that the President vetoed them after which thrh'n 
passed with the unsatisfactoiy measures omitted "^d he ^gned them tT 
session adjourned July ist. ^ "^'"- ^^is 

There was an immense exodus of neOToes from tt,. r „ ■,,■■■ 
States and the Carolinas to Kansas anlTndilri ' 87rwhidr:3 
Congress to appoint a committee to inquire into its cai.t TU , 

obtained did not prove in any way satisfactory. " ™' '"""^ 

Specie payment was resumed lanuarv 1st 18^^ ..r. t . 
suspended for eighteen years. The Is neTs of th co-untrfha/r^ " 
depressed condition since the great panic of 187, but ™"""y ''="' ''"" '" » 
improve In opposition to tils m^Lr ther^;^" e'^.^Gr el^^cr ^^ V ^ 
which clamored for an unlimited issue of irredeemable greenbact.'as t'he 




370 RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. [1877 

national currency was called. They prophesied the financial ruin of the 
country to result from a specie currency, and have waited to the present time 
to see it come, but instead the country has been prospering in all departments. 
There was a fearful outbreak of the Ute Indians in 1879. The government 
agent, N. C. Meeker, was murdered, and for a time a general Indian uprising 
was feared. Major Thornburg was sent against them, but he and ten of his 
men were killed, and the rest surrounded for six days. The troops intrenched 
and held out until succor arrived, and soon the Utes were put down. A joint 
resolution, having for its design the enfranchisement of women, was introduced 
into the House of Representatives January 30th. The same in substance was 
presented to the Senate January 19th, 1880. It is known as the Sixteenth 
Amendment to the Constitution. 

The project of an inter-oceanic canal was revived by a visit to this 
country, in 1880, of M. de Lesseps, the engineer of the Suez Canal. He 
examined the Isthmus, and declared his belief in the feasibility of the 
scheme. The President sent a message to Congress March 8th, 1880, in 
which he apprised the world that it is the duty of the United States to assert 
and maintain such supervision over an enterprize of this kind as will protect 
our national interests. 

The national election of 1880 was one of intense interest, and party 
spirit ran high. There were four candidates in the field. James A. Garfield 
and Chester A. Arthur were nominated by the Republicans June 2d. On 
the 9th, the Greenback party nominated James B. Weaver and Benjamin J. 
Chambers. The Prohibition party put in nomination Neal Dow and A. H. 
Thompson June 17th. The Democratic party assembled in Chicago June 
22d and nominated Winfield S. Hancock and William H. English. There is 
another fact which if not mentioned in history would be soon forgotten. 
There was another party in the field, whose candidates were John W. Phelps 
and Samuel C. Pomeroy. It was the Anti-masonic party. All of the four 
candidates for President had been generals in the Union army. The canvass 
was particularly spirited and bitter. The excitement ran high, and many 
rumors were put in circulation which had no foundation in fact. James A. 
Garfield was elected by an unquestionable majority. On the 28th day of 
February the President elect left his home in Mentor, Ohio, and in company 
with his family proceeded to Washington, accompanied by his aged mother. 

A special session of the Senate was called to confirm the nominations of 
the new President. 



i88i] 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



)7I 




ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 

^HE inaugural address of President Garfield met 
with the general approbation of the country. The 
points were: equal protection for all without respect 
to race or color ; universal education as a safeguard 
of suffrage; an honest coinage; the funding of the 
national debt at a lower rate of interest ; the prohibi- 
tion of polygamy and the regulation of the civil 
service. These were well received by all parties and the 
administration started off with high hopes. The Senate of 
the United States was so evenly divided between the two 
great parties that at the beginning of the administration of 
General Garfield there was quite an animated contest over 
the appointment of officers for that body. This caused a 
dead-lock for a number of weeks. There had been a gentle- 
man nominated by the President for the office of Collector 
of the port of New York who was distaseful to the senior 
Senator from that State, Roscoe Conklin, and because the 
Senate confirmed the nomination he with his colleague resigned and 
left that great State unrepresented in the United States Senate till an 
election of their successors. The Legislature of New York was in session 
at Albany, and at once there began an exciting canvass for the elec- 
tion of the United States Senators. This lasted for several weeks and 
finally resulted in the retirement of Mr. Conklin and his colleague to 
private life and the election of two other gentlemen to take their 
places. In the mean time Congress had been performing its regular work. 
A treaty with China concerning immigration and commerce, with the 
United States of Columbia in regard to extradition of criminals, a con- 
sular convention with Italy, a convention with Morocco and a reciprocal 
treaty with Japan concerning shipwrecked sailors had received the attention 
of Government. May i8th the Senate had postponed the resolution 
reasserting the Monroe doctrine. 

The country was startled on the eve of a general wide-spread 
celebration of the anniversary of American independence by the news 
that the President of the United States had been shot by an assassin 
and would probably die. This diabolical crime had been committed at 
the passenger depot of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in Wash- 
ington Saturday morning, July 2d. Mr. J. G. Blaine, the Secretary of 
State, and the President were walking arm-in-arm through the waiting- 
room when two pistol shots were fired in quick succession from the 
rear. One shot penetrated the President's body, and he was carried 
wounded to a room in the second story of the depot, and as soon as 
possible removed to the White House. The assassin was at once arrested 



372 RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. [i88i 

by police officer Kearney and taken to the jail. He proved to be 
Charles J. Guiteau, a man of great self-conceit and little ability, who 
had been for months beseeching the President and the Secretary of 
State for an official appointment, and at length, becoming incensed at not 
receiving the attention he thought he merited he resolved upon revenge. 
It may have been that his unbalanced mind was inflamed by the 
discussions going on in the Republican party. The President, before 
leaving the depot where he had been shot, caused a telegram to be 
sent to Mrs. Garfield, who was at Long Branch, to relieve her of any 
undue anxiety in regard to his condition. It was in these words : 

"ThePresident desires me to say to you from him that he has been seriously hurt, how 
seriously he cannot yet say. He is himself and hopes you will come to him soon. He sends his 
love to you. A. F. Rockwell." 

Contrary to the expectations of the attending physicians he did not 
die at once, but seemed to rally, and' hopes were entertained of his 
final recovery. The deepest gloom was over the nation, and North and 
South alike felt the fearful shock of the blow. The glorious celebra- 
tions which were planned for July 4th in all parts of the country were 
abandoned. Messages of sympathy and condolence came from all parts 
of the world ; crowned heads in every country, American citizens in 
foreicm lands, every form of association, commercial, social, benevolent, 
political and religious, vied with each other in tendering the deepest 
expressions of sympathy in this hour of sadness. Most heartfelt and 
touching were the kind words of the widowed Queen of Great Britain. 
Then followed the long and painful struggle for life which lasted for 
weary weeks. There were repeated relapses and rallyings, which caused 
the nation to alternate between the hope of final recovery and the 
despair of sorrow, until September i6th he had an alarming relapse. 
He was at Long Branch, where he had been carried in the most careful 
manner by a special train from Washington to the very door of the 
cottage where he was to die. The struggle for life had been heroic, 
persistent and patient, but the President must die. At 10:55 Monday, 
September 19th, he drew his last breath, and thus passed away the 
man who had risen from the humble position of a driver on the canal 
to the proudest station in the gift of a great people. This sad ending 
of an eventful life had filled the country with gloom and foreboding. 
Instantly the painful news was telegraphed all over the world, and the 
messages of condolence and kindest sympathy poured in from every 
quarter of the globe. The noble Queen of England sent a message to 
her not less noble sister in America, Mrs. Garfield, in the following words: 

" Wordfi cannot express the deep sympathy I feel for you at this moment. May God support 
and comfort you as He alone can. The Queen." 

The Cabinet at once summoned Vice President Arthur to take 



1883] 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



373 



the oath of office without delay, and he did so in a very quiet manner 
before night. The oath was administered by Judge John R. Brady, of 
the Supreme Court, in New York. The remains of the dead President 
were conveyed to Washington, where they lay in state in the rotunda 
of the Capitol for two days. The floral tributes were of the most 
beautiful and expressive kind, and throughout the entire country the 
tokens of mourning were displayed from public and private buildings. 
The mansions of the rich and the homes of the humble poor, the large 
commercial palaces of business and the humble stand of the street 
vender, the massive factory of the wealthy corporation and the shop 
of the mechanic, all alike were decked with some emblem of mourning. 
The South vied with the North, and the whole country united in their 
heartfelt expressions of sorrow. 



ADMINISTRATION OF CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



[^RESIDENT ARTHUR was formally inaugurated in 
Washington September 22d. The oath was re-admin- 
istered by Chief Justice Waite in the presence of Mr. 
Garfield's Cabinet, ex-Presidents Grant and Hayes, 
General Sherman and some others. He then delivered 
a brief inaugural address, and immediately issued a proc- 
lamation appointing Monday, September 26th, as a day 
of fasting, humiliation and prayer. He called an extra session of 
the Senate, to meet October loth. 

The body of the late President was removed from Washing- 
ton, after appropriate religious services, and conveyed by a 
military guard, accompanied by the Congressional Committee 
and prominent citizens. Among the many emblems which were 
presented was a floral ladder, on the successive rounds of which 
were the words, " Chester, Hiram, Williams, Ohio State Senator, 
Colonel, General, Congressman, United States Senator, President 
and Martyr." These names indicated the upward steps by 
which James A. Garfield had advanced in his public career. Chester was the 
seat of an obscure seminary where he began his education. Hiram is the 
name of an insignificant college where he was a teacher, and Williams is the 
college where he graduated. The other titles explain themselves. 

The last public services over the remains were performed in the presence 
of two hundred thousand citizens in the cemetery at Cleveland, Ohio. There 
were services in all the cities and towns in the country at the same time. On 
the 23d of October the body was quietly transferred from the receiving tomb 
to the private vault of Captain L. T. Schofield, in Lake View Cemetery. 

The special session of the Senate met October loth, and the President's 




374 RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. [1881 

nominations for Cabinet officers were confirmed, as follows : E. T. Freling- 
huysen for Secretary of State ; Chas. J. Folger, Secretary of Treasury ; 
Samuel J. Kirkwood, Secretary of the Interior; Robert T. Lincoln, Secretary 
of War; Wm. A. Hunt, Secretary of Navy; Benjamin H. Brewster, 
Attorney-General, and Timothy O. Howe Postmaster-General. Other nomi- 
nations were confirmed and the routine business of the Executive Department, 
which, to some extent, had been interrupted by the illness and death of the 
late President, was resumed. The Senate had considerable trouble in organ- 
ization, growing out of the even division of the two great parties. It ended 
in the election of David Davis, of Illinois, as President pro tempore of the 
Senate. 

The centennial celebration of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 
at the close of the War of the Revolution, was an occasion of great national 
interest, A grand naval review and a military display on shore, with histo- 
rical addresses and public festivities, were the main features of the occasion. 
The French Government was represented by a large number of officials and a 
national vessel. Among the distinguished guests were lineal descendants of 
Count D'Estaing, Lafayette and Rochambeau, who had aided the patriots in 
their early struggle. Other nations of Europe were also represented. The 
President and Cabinet with the diplomatic corps of the nations of the world 
took part in the occasion. The celebration began October i8th, 1881, and 
lasted for a number of days. 

The trial of Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, was begun in 
November of the same year. The widest latitude was given the accused to 
present his defense. The counsel were allowed ample time to prepare their 
answer, and the brother-in-law of the prisoner undertook the case for him, 
associated with Mr. Reed. After a fair, impartial and lengthy trial, in which 
the plea of insanity was strongly urged, Guiteau was found guilty of murder 
and sentenced to be hanged June 30th, 1882. Two ineffectual attempts to 
shoot the prisoner were made during the progress of the case; the first by a 
civilian, whose name was Wm. Jones, on the 26th of November, who shot at 
him while being conveyed in a van from the court house to the jail. The 
second attempt was by Sergeant Mason, of the military guard, who shot 
through the window of the prisoner's cell and failed to injure him. 

They were both brought to trial and punished as their cases demanded. 
A number of unsuccessful measures were taken by the family and legal 
advisers of Guiteau to set aside the verdict, obtain a new trial, or induce 
President Arthur to interpose his executive clemency in favor of the con- 
demned man, but all of no avail, and on the appointed day he w^as hanged. 
To the last he displayed his egotism and excessive self-conceit by making a 
characteristic speech from the gallows on which he was executed June 30th, 
1882. 

Congress met in regular session in December, 1881, and entered upon a 
long and heated debate upon political questions. The people were demanding 
a revision of the tariff and a reduction of the burdens of taxation occasioned 



1883] RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 375 

by the immense war debt and the heavy expenditures of government. They 
were demanding reform in the civil service and purity in the administration 
of pubHc affairs. The people of the Pacific States were clamoring for a 
national law to prevent the immigration of Chinese into the country. 
The opportunity for Congress to distinguish itself in passing measures of 
great public benefit was never more plainly presented. The session lasted 
for nearly eight months, and when at last it adjourned the country took one 
long breath of relief. What had been done ? The subject of revision of the 
tariff was referred to a commission, to sit during the recess of Congress and 
receive testimony. The internal revenue tax was removed from perfumery 
and proprietary medicines. Appropriation bills, exceeding the amounts of 
similar bills passed by the previous Congress to the sum of $76,000,000, had 
been passed. The anti-Chinese immigration bill demanded by the Pacific States 
was passed and vetoed by the President, and then another bill, in modified 
form, passed. "A River and Harbor Bill," appropriating the immense sum of 
$19,000,000 for internal improvements, was passed and vetoed, and then passed 
over the President's veto. The great interest of ship-building,jA^hich had been 
entirely prostrate since the war, received some attention. And with this 
record they had adjourned and gone before the people for their verdict. 

The celebrated trial of the " Star Route conspirators " was pushed with 
great vigor in the United States Supreme Court. This grew out of excessive 
and fraudulent contracts for the postal service, in which a number of promi- 
nent men were implicated. The first trial resulted in the conviction of two 
of the minor offenders, the acquittal of two, one of whom was dead, and a 
disagreement of the jury in regard to the principals in the alleged conspiracy 
to defraud the Government. 

Congress, we should have said, granted a special pension to the widow of 
President Abraham Lincoln of fifteen thousand dollars March 15th, 1881, but 
that sadly unfortunate lady died a few months after. She had never 
recovered from the severe shock caused by the sudden blow of her honored 
husband's assassination. 

General U. S. Grant, the hero of the Civil War and the President for two 
terms, had retired from public life after receiving many tokens of esteem from 
his fellow-countrymen. Ex-President Hayes at the end of his official term 
had retired to quiet life, from which he emerged at the funeral of President 
Garfield, only to return again to the retirement of domestic life. 

The political outlook of the country was somewhat disturbed, and the 
canvass in most of the States waged bitterly. In the great States of Penn- 
sylvania, New York and Ohio there was much dissatisfaction in the ranks of 
the Republican party. In the State of Maine, the home of James G. Blaine, 
the ex-Secretary of State, the contest waged fiercely. All the Congressmen 
in this State who had been suspected of being friendly in any way to the 
River and Harbor Bill were defeated. In Vermont the majority was in favor 
of the Republican party. In Georgia, Alexander H. Stevens, formerly 
"Vice President of the Confederate States," was elected governor, and tb.c 



3/6 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



[iSc^I 



Democratic nominees for Congress were also elected by heavy majorities. In 
Ohio the election was a most disastrous defeat to the friends and apologists 
of the " River and Harbor Bill." A large number of the States held their 
election for members of Congress on the 7th of November, which resulted in a 
most sweeping defeat for the Administration in all parts of the country. In 
the States of New York and Pennsylvania, where the most strenuous efforts 
were made on the part of the Government to elect its candidates, the 
opposition had immense majorities. The complexion of the National ?Iouse 
of Representatives was changed to Democratic, while all who voted in favor 
of the Harbor and River Bill were cither defeated or returned with meager 
majorities. Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and a 
majority of the States elected Democratic governors. The rebuke to the 
stalwart wing of the Republican party was most decisive. 

The XLVII. Congress opened its final session on the first Monday in 
December, and the annual message of the President was read in both Houses. 
The President first alluded to the pleasant relations with all the foreign 
governments, ajad expressed the hope that the differences between the United 
States and Spain in regard to naturalization may be speedily settled. 
Negotiations had also been opened with the Swiss Government upon the 
same matter. He also announced that the Ottoman Porte had not yet 
assented to the construction which the United States had put upon the treaty 
of i860 in regard to jurisdictional rights in Turkey. The recommendation 
of the United States to Chili in regard to her difificulties with Peru have been 
declined, and any steps toward the formation of a Protectorate is in 
opposition to the avowed policy of our Government. The President 
recommended that especial attention be paid to the interests of ship-building, 
which had declined since the war. 



FINANCIAL EXHIBIT FOR 1882. 

The ordinary revenues of the Government from all sources for the year 
ending June 30, 1882, amounted to $403,525,250.28, and the ordinary 
expenditures were $258,981,439.58. The surplus revenue was $145,513,810.71, 
which, with an amount drawn for the cash balance in the Treasury of 
$27,737,694.84, makes $166,281,505.55. 



Of this there was applied to the redemption 

the sinking fund, .... 

Of fractional currency for the sinking fund, 
Of Loan of July and August, l86i. 
Of Loan of March, 1863, 
Of Funded loan of 1881, 

Of Loan of 1858, 

Of Loan of February, 1861, . 

Of P^ive Twenties of 1862, 

Of Five Twenties of 1864, 

Of Five Twenties of 1865, . , . 

Of Ten Forties of 1864, 



of bonds to 

$60,079,150 00 

58,705.587 55 

62,572,050 00 

4,472,900 00 

37,194,45000 

1,000 00 

303.000 00 

2,100 00 

7,400 00 

6,500 00 

254,55000 



1883] RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 377 

Of Consuls of 1865, 86,45000 

Of Consuls of 1867, 407,25000 

Of Consuls of 1868, 141,40000 

Of Oregon War Debt, 675,250 00 

Of Old Demand Compound Interest and Other Notes, 18,350 00 

Total, . $224,927,387 55 

The foreign commerce of the United States during the last fiscal year, 
including imports and exports of merchandise and specie, was as follows : 

EXPORTS. 

Merchandise, ., . $750,542,257 00 

Specie, 47,417,47900 

Total, $797,959>736 00 

IMPORTS. 

Merchandise, $724,639,574 00 

Specie, 42,472,390 00 

Total, $767,111,96400 

Excess of exports over imports of merchandise., . $25,902,683 00 

This excess is less than it has been before for any of the previous six 
years. 

The Congress set at work in earnest to transact the business of the 
session, and at once several important measures were introduced and put 
upon their passage. A bill favoring civil service reform, one in regard to 
American shipping, for a reduction of postage, and many other reforms. 

The difficulties between the United States and Mexico, growing out of 
the unsettled condition of the border, were referred to a commission. 
Romero, the Mexican minister at Washington, was one of the commissioners 
to negotiate a new treaty between Mexico and the United States. 

The Duke of Newcastle, a member of the English Government, made a 
visit to Washington in December, 1882. He dined with the British minister, 
and visited the Senate Monday, December nth, to observe its methods. 

The United States vessel Jeannette had been sent upon an expedition to 
the Arctic regions by co-operation of the Government and a private citizen, 
James G. Bennett, proprietor of the New York Herald. No tidings had been 
received from them for more than two years, when the world was electrified 
• by a telegram from the coast of Siberia that survivors of the party were 
being aided by the friendly Russians. Captain James H. Long and his men 
had been obliged to leave their ship in a sinking condition, ana with three 
small boats traverse the immense ice fields to the open sea. Two boat loads 
landed upon the barren and uninhabited coast of Siberia. One boat load had 
been swamped in a gale, and the party with Captain Long were trozen after 
landing. One boat's crew and two men of the other finally returnea to the 
United States in 1882 and were the recipients of many honors. 

The two hundredth anniversary of the landing of William Penn, in 



378 



RFXONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



[1856 



Pennsylvania, was celebrated in Philadelphia in a becoming manner by the 
city government and various organizations of citizens October 25th and 26th. 
1882. It was the occasion for fine military and civic display, the delivery of 
historical and patriotic addresses, and unusual festivities of great interest. 

PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT SINCE THE 

CIVIL WAR. 

HE war had been practically ended with the surrender 
of Generals Lee and Johnston in April, 1865, and both 
sections of the country rejoiced at the return of peace. 
The South had suffered most heavily and lost her all. 
The wealthy families were reduced to the verge of 
necessity. Their slaves were free, their plantations 
uncultivated, and their prospects for the future were 
dark indeed. Where the land remained in possession of its former 
owners they had not the means to cultivate it, nor the money to 
buy seed. The worthless Confederat^e bonds and currency in 
which they had invested or which had been forced upon them 
was of no use to them now. Their towns and villages were 
filled with brave men who were shattered in life and limb, and 
had no government to care for them. Their industries were 
paralyzed and their commerce destroyed, and their political 
status was as yet uncertain. The first thought was for personal 
preservation, and all classes bent their energies to the raising of 
crop of cotton, for which the manufacturers of the world were 
The demand for cotton and their ability to supply this demand was 
the only line of hope. Bravely and grandly did they seize upon it. Could it 
be produced without slave labor? This was a problem as yet unsolved. It 
must be done. The freedman was given an interest in the growing crop, and 
he labored with more zest than he had ever shown for the kindest master. 
He was dependent upon his own resources now, and with no owner to care 
for him his first experience in the new condition of things was at best a hard 
one. Even with the kindest disposition the whites were unable to aid the 
blacks. The bounty of the Government was extended to all alike. The 
United States issued rations of food and clothing to both blacks and whites 
in many places, and thus the first season after the return of peace was passed. 
The cotton crop brought a good market. The deserted factories in the North 
sprang into action, and the production of cotton goods, which had been 
suspended for years, was resumed once more. 

In the North the industries had been somewhat disarranged, but not to 
the extent they had been in the South. The manufacturing of all manner of 
army supplies had been pushed to its utmost limit. Iron factories had been 
running day and night. The demand of the army for clothing and 




the first 
waitin"-. 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 379 

equipments had been immense ; but that was all changed by the disbanding 
of the army, and the industries of the North must be turned to other 
channels. The vast numbers of returned soldiers must be provided with 
means of livelihood and positions for peaceful employment. There was an 
abundance of money in the country, but it was below par value and prices 
were high. There had been a disposition to withdraw capital invested in 
mercantile and manufacturing pursuits. But with the return of specie 
payments and depreciation in prices came a general impulse for investments. 
The capital of the North was moving southward. Cotton mills and other 
factories were being erected nearer to the supply of the raw material. There 
arose a period of railroad development and thousands of miles of new 
roads belted the country. Real estate was advancing in price and the era of 
speculation was upon the nation before they were aware of it. All the while 
the South was recuperating most rapidly. The vast war debt was being 
reduced and its interest lessened. The dawn of specie payment was like a 
healthful tonic, when all at once, like a thunder-clap from a cloudless sky, 
burst the ominous mutterings of that terrific black Friday that sent so many 
towering fortunes tottering in their fall. The long panic of weary years 
followed, in which the public was taught to contract private expenditures 
and perform business upon solid principles. The lesson was a bitter but a 
needful one, and the people were taught by a hard experience that inflated 
values and high living are destructive to financial success. Slowly the public 
confidence returned, and the revival of business began and assumed a healthy 
tone. 

The Centennial Exposition had displayed to the amazed countries of the 
world the wonderful progress in all the arts, manufactures and improvements 
of the age, the United States leading in nearly every department of trade, 
and at the same time showing the old world her desirable advancement in 
the refined arts and scientific discoveries. In machinery and labor-saving 
appliances she had distanced the nations of Europe. While in defensive 
and offensive military armature she had given them lessons which they were 
but too ready to learn and improve upon. A grand impetus was given by 
this exhibition to all the industries of the United States, while it opened up 
the markets of the world as never before. The fertile wheat and corn- 
growing sections of the great central Western States, as well as the cotton- 
growing South, found a ready market in the old world. 

The export trade of the United States began shortly after the 
war to grow into enormous dimensions, and far exceeded its imports. 
The exports in 1881 reached the amount of $898,142,891 and the imports 
$729,608,823, as against exports in i860 $373,189,274 and imports 
$335,233,232. These figures are expressive of the vast producing power 
of the nation and the demand for the luxuries and necessities of life 
produced by other countries. The increase in positive values in the 
country would far exceed these figures. The public debt has been 
reduced at the rate of nearly one hundred million per year, and refunded 



38o RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 

the principal at a low rate of interest. The cities of the South and 
the North have shared in the general prosperity and regained the lost 
ground caused by the war. The enterprise of the whole country has 
been stimulated by a healthful rivalry in business, and the bonds of 
commercial intercouse are fast blotting them out. The following extract 
show the real feeling of the South, especially among its young men : 

Frotfi the Century. 

The Southern States are now rearing a large number of young men before whom the outlook is 
bright. Some of them are sons of the old ruling families, but many of them have sprung from the 
lower and middle classes. They enjoy the advantages of poverty ; they have no money to spend in 
luxuries or diversions ; they have fortunes to retrieve or to gain ; they have grown up since the war, 
and have inherited less than could be expected of its resentments. " Well," said a bright fellow at the 
close of a college commencement in Virginia last Summer, " Lee and Jackson have been turned over 
in their graves but once to-day." The sigh of relief with which he said it indicates the feeling of many 
of these young men. They keep no grudges and have no wish to fight the war over again. The senti- 
ment of patriotism is getting a deep root in their natures. 

Yet they are full of faith in the future of their own section. Well they may be. During their 
lifetime the industry of the South has been revolutionized, and the results already achieved are marvel- 
ous. An era of prosperity has begun ; and there are few intelligent men at the South to-day who will 
not at once confess that it is destined to be a far brighter era than they have ever seen. Free labor is 
unlocking the wealth of farms and mines and falling waters in a way that slave-labor never could have 
done. New machinery, new methods are bringing in a new day. In the midst of the stir and move- 
ment of this industrial revolution these young men are growing up. Hope and expectation are in the 
air; the stern discipline of poverty goads them on, and the promise of great success allures them. All 
the conditions are favorable for the development of strong character; and any one who will visit the 
Southern colleges and schools will find in them a generation of students alert, vigorous, manly and 
tremendously in earnest. Probably they do not spend, on an average, one-third as much money per 
capita as is spent by the students of the New England colleges ; and in the refinements of scholarship 
the average Southern student would be found inferior to the average Northern student ; but they are 
making the most of their opportunities. They ought to have better opportunities. Most of the South- 
ern colleges and schools are crippled for lack of funds, and much more of the flood of Northern bounty 
might well be turned southward, to the endowment of schools and colleges for whites as well as blacks. 
The generous sentiment of the young South would thus be strengthened, and the bonds of union more 
firmly joined. But whatever may be done in this direction it is evident that a race of exceptional moral 
earnestness and mental vigor is now growing up in the South, and that it is sure to be heard from. If 
the young fellows in the Northern colleges expect to hold their own in the competition for leadership, 
they must devote less of their resources to base ball and rowing and champagne suppers and come dovyn 
to business. 

The " Cotton Exposition " in the beautiful and rejuvinated city of 
Atlanta, Georgia, in October, 1882, was a gigantic exhibition of the 
resources of the great cotton-growing States, and displayed the rapid 
stride made by a people but a few years ago prostrated by an exhaus- 
tive and unsuccessful struggle. The vast domain of the South-west is 
being rapidly opened up by the means of railroad communications and 
the influx of immigration. The crowded denizens of the old world are 
thronging in inconceivable numbers to the western republic as never 
before in the history of the country. The number of foreign immi- 
grants landed reached to the sum total of 669,431 human beings of every 
nation under heaven. Since 1820, when the Government first began to 
keep the official account, there have come to the United States no less 
than 10,808,189 persons of foreign birth to find homes in this country. 



RECONSTRUCTION AND PROGRESS. 



381 



In addition to these there have come 232,283 Chinese, who have been less 
welcome and more harshly treated than any of the rest. 

This vast heterogeneous mass of men and women of different races 
and types has become assimilated and equal under the law. They 
have aided much in developing the resources of the land, and added 
to its material wealth in many directions. The vast improvement in 
every department of science has kept pace with the demands of the age. 
The telephone, the audiphone, the electric-light have been invented during 
the period of which we are writing. The future success of this republic 
is assured if the institutions of its founders are maintained and its 
constitution and laws are kept unimpaired. The purity of the ballot box, 
the maintenance of public honor, the education of the masses and the 
civilization and Christianization of the foreign element and of the aborigines 
are demanded by the spirit of the hour. The great blots still remaining upon 
the national character — the permission of polygamy and the treatment 
of the Indian — should be removed. The sanctity of the marriage relation 
and observance of the Sabbath should be required. Public faith with 
nations, tribes and individuals is imperatively demanded, and then the 
fondest dreams of the most enthusiastic well-wisher of his country will 
be realized. Private integrity, sobriety and industry with the qualities 
above mentioned will secure us from the fate of the old republics that tottered 
to their fall as soon as these were wanting. 



JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD. 



THE MARTYRED HERO. 



Atlantic's waves with ceaseless rollinj^ 

In ebbing tide of sorrow break, 
As muffled bells at midnight tolling 

The saddened nation quickly wake. 
The Lord of Life the word hath spoken, 

" Be still, O throbbing heart of pain ; '' 
The golden wheels at once are broken, 

And Death hath touched the mighty btaiik 

The vital forces strong had striven 

For many painful weeks in vain ; 
His column fair at length is riven, 

For death hath torn the veil in twain. 
He bravely yielded to the spoiler, 

And won at last his well-earned rest, 
From home of wealth, or humble toiler, 

The answer comes, " God's will is best." 

In city mansions heads are bending. 

From manly eyes the teardrops start, 
And country homes their griefs are blending, 

For death hath pierced the nation's heart. 
Palmettos join their mournful sighing 

In union with the northern pine, 
And east and west together vieing 

Their richest tributes for him twine. 



Two oceans join their swelling surges 

To mourn our nation's honored dead; 
From northern lakes to gulf the dirges 

Rise o'er the martyred hero's bed. 
From mountain slope to flowing river 

The mournful requiems softly rise. 
For saddened hearts with sorrow quiver 

As home the winged arrow flies. 

A deep, impressive silence resting 

On thronged mart and busy mill, 
A solemn awe each soul investing,— 

The mighty rush of trade is still. 
A world with sympathy is heaving 

To share with us a nation's grief, 
As gray and blue alike are weaving 

A garland for our fallen chief. 

God, we thank Thee that the nation 

May claim the hope Thy promise gives. 
And find in this our consolation, 

The God of justice ever lives. 
Our trembling hands in silence clasping 

Above the martyr's sacred bier, 
A new-bom hope 'mid sorrow grasping, 

As cloud-rifts show a sky more clear. 

J. H. 



01 POSITION All THE MTMS-LESM TAUGHT 




honor 



E are standing to-day like the Roman god of the gates 
with our faces turned both ways. With one we are 
gazing in subdued tenderness upon the sacred memo- 
ries of the past, and stretching our hands with their 
wealth of flowers to do honor to our hero dead : with 
the other we turn to the hopeful future, and offer our 
arms still strong to bear its burdens and brave to share 
its battles. For those who have nobly fallen in the 
line of duty the end has come, and to them the fullest praise should 
be given ; but for us who remain, the bugle only sounds the need- 
ful truce, while with reverent tread we bear our comrades to their 
resting place and strew their graves with the richest perfume of each 
returning spring. For us the respite from the conflict is but a brief 
one. The present makes its ever increasing demands upon us, and 
calls for brave hearts with noble purpose true. 

Scarcely do the echoes of the burial note and the " volley of 
die upon the air when the thrilling tones of the bugle sound " On to 
the battle ! '' If we thought the truce meant a peace we were most sadly 
mistaken, for we shall find that the contest wages still. The battle-field only 
has changed, and with it has changed the relation of the contending forces. 
The armies late arrayed against each other are divided on a different line now. 
Happily the issues of that contest are settled, but the conflict of the people 
against the enemies of popular government wages still. The recent civil war 
was but one phase of the gigantic struggle which began with our existence as 
a people, a single scene of the national drama which opened when the genius 
of liberty " rang up the curtain," and our fathers pronounced the grand old 
prelude in their immortal bill of rights, " The DECLARATION OF Indepen- 
dence." 

The first battalions of the army have engaged in conflicts fierce and long 
and they won the victory ; but their triumph was not destined to give com- 
plete security to them who came after them. The enemies of popular lib- 
erty have been encountered and overcome on many a hotly contested battle- 
field, but after each successive victory new allies of tyranny have as suddenly 
arisen ; new assaults have been prepared ; new tactics have been employed, 
and still new enemies pour down upon the army of freedom. Conquering 
field after field from their foes the patriot soldiers see the frowning hill-tops 
* An address delivered on Decoration day by the Author. 



LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. 383 

beyond, still black with threatening warriors pressing forward to meet them 
on other fields — and "-the cud is not yet.'" 

The march of freedom's host is like that of a conquering army into a 
fortress that has been breached. The men in the vanguard may fall by thou- 
sands. Was their fall a failure ? Nay, nay ; for their bodies but helped to 
bridge the trench over which their comrades have marched to a complete 
Victory. The dying exhortation of the falling heroes to those who came after 
them has been like that of noble Lawrence, carried wounded unto death from 
the deck of his vessel, " Don't give up the ship ! " Each succeeding genera- 
tion will find that " ETERNAL vigilance is the price OF LIBERTY," and 
this price must ever be paid by those who would retain it ! 

" This last successful experiment of self-government by the people " is 
still on trial before the ages, and the severest tests are now being applied, 
the strength of our institutions is put to its utmost tension. The cable of 
law that holds our ship of State is being stretched by two opposite forces : 
already do the strands smoke in their intense friction around the pierhead of 
the constitution. On the one side unbridled license exerts the full force of 
its diabolic strength ; the love of money and of power, on the other, puts 
forth all its energy to break the bonds of lawful restraint. Human greed and 
human lust have united to bid defiance to the right, — twin monsters more 
hideous than mythology ever painted or poet ever dreamed. They have 
given birth to a whole brood of bantlings as repulsive as themselves — the 
demagogues in society and Church and State ; communism with its red hand, 
Ishmael-like arrayed against every man, and every man's hand arrayed against 
it ; the Moloch of wealth seizing in its fiery arms the noblest children of our 
race; the Goliath of intemperance bidding defiance to the Church of God 
and the cries of humanity ; the shameless goddess, Free Love, and her wanton 
sister, Easy Divorce, who have polluted with their fetid breath the purest 
sanctuary of home ; dark-robed Skepticism assuming the name of Human 
Reason, who would pluck with skeleton hand the brightest star from our sky 
and throw her own black mantle of night over the horizon that hides our 
hopes of immortality ; license which would bring to our land the Sunday of 
Europe and rob us of all the sacred memories which hallow " the day of rest ; ' ' 
the corrupting and festering influences that are sapping the manhood of the 
nation ; the shameless immoralities and ill-concealed dishonesties which so 
frequently startle us with their public outcroppings are enough to sicken the 
heart and unnerve the arm of the patriot if he has not the same confidence in 
the God of battles that our fathers had. These are the foes with which we 
still have to contend, in their new disguises and upon their own well chosen 
and well fortified battle ground. 

Shall we overcome them ? In the words of the flaming orator of our early 
struggle, " I have no way of judging of the future, but by the past." 

Look back on the line of history along which this " Young Republic of 
the West" has come, and with the broad chart of ancient and modern times 
before you find a parallel to it all if you can ! But little more than a century 



384 LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. ' 

has passed since thirteen isolated and dependent colonies, with no community 
of aims and no mutual bond save a common grievance in the oppression of 
the Home Government, came to agitate the question of an appeal to arms ; 
and to-day, as regards moral force and material strength, they stand united as 
the first power in Christendom. The thirteen States have increased to (will 
some little boy or girl who has the latest edition of geography please to tell 
me ?) — I am unable to keep up the count they come in so fast. We have a 
new star in our flag-to-day, I believe, and the number is thirty-eight. 

In view of the facts in our remarkable history we may well say with the 
inspired Hebrew bard, " He hath not dealt so with any nation." 

Can we fathom the problems of Providence in reference to this American 
people? Has not Jehovah some mighty design in all this wonderful develop- 
ment ? Can we not see the plainest indications all along the highway of the 
past of the great fact which the crazy old king of Babylon acknowledged, 
" God docth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhab- 
itants of the earth; and none can stay his hand"? Let us look back upon 
our history and trace, if we can, these developments of Providence. If we 
can do this we will not have misspent the few moments devoted to-day to 
this exercise. 

Here was a continent lying in a wilderness state, the only inhabitants 
were the wild beasts and scarcely less wild aborigines who roamed, unre- 
strained, over its extensive plains and through its grand old forests. Here 
were the same noble rivers, the same broad inland seas, the wide extended 
prairie with its rich deposit of soil, the hidden wealth of minerals in the 
bowels of the earth, water-power capable of carrying all the machinery of 
the world to-day ; the same lofty'mountains with their magnificent scenery, 
the grandest upon which the sun e'er shines, all as we behold them now, and 
yet for fifteen hundred years after the birth of Christ it is an unknown world. 
And why was this? Look at the condition of the more civilized parts of the 
world for these long centuries and you will find the answer, — the dark black 
night of a thousand years which had come over Europe, when moral, religious 
and social darkness rested on all the people so dense that scarcely a ray of 
light e'er penetrated it. Then man was working out the bitter problem of the 
relation of the Church to the State, in the union of temporal and spiritual 
power: and the fearful solution was well nigh given in the loss of civil and 
religious liberty. 

Many abortive attempts were made to regain that which had been lost, 
but the heel of the tyrant at Rome was upon the neck of the masses, and the 
flickering fires, uncertain and disconcerted, which arose ever and anon amid 
the surrounding gloom went quickly out and made the darkness all the more 
intense for their short-lived burning. These questions had an ample theater 
in the old world; the new was held in reserve for grander trials of those 
questions which are closely interwoven with our world-wide humanity. At 
length the echoes of the hammer of Luther as he nailed his bold Theses to 
the church door at Wirtemberg awoke the people from their sleep of 



LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. 385 

centuries, a sleep which had cost them so much, in which the chains of an 
irksome bondage were being riven harder and harder still about them. But 
the strength of the sleeping giant was aroused and the bands were rent 
asunder. And now, when this spirit of freedom from the chains which had 
bound body and mind and heart alike, had swept across the newly awakened 
nations, and men were seeking for some asylum from the bondage, God 
himself sent the hardy Genoan navigator in his Spanish ships to open the way 
to such a land as this. And he did it. 

When "the fullness of times" had come he sent the right people to 
colonize the land. The stern unyielding Puritan with hardy hand and living 
faith He sent to Plymouth, the Dutchman with his love for " Faderland " to 
Manhattan ; the Quaker with charitable heart and uncompromising integrity 
to build up the City of Brotherly Love ; the fervent, zealous Catholic to the 
shores of the Chesapeake ; the vanguard of all, led by the boldest of pioneers, to 
Jamestown ; the Huguenots of sunny France to the no less sunny clime of 
Georgia and the Carolinas. And these were they who laid the foundation of 
the civil government we now enjoy. Do we not see the plainest indications 
that right here, in this new world upon whose eastern shores these feeble 
colonies were planted, there were questions to be solved which were to affect 
all the race ? The variety of creed and nationality which characterized the 
pioneers was an arrangement of Providence to hold each in check, and 
thus prepare for the coming struggle which so soon was to be theirs. The 
seeds were planted, but it would take years of storm and sunshine, of tempest 
and calm, of anxious watching and bitterest disappointment, before that seed 
would germinate and develop into a full grown tree beneath whose shadow 
the nations of the earth might rest. This period which preceded the 
revolution is rich in indication of manifest providences. All the wars with 
the Indians, with the P'rench, and the wilderness, too, were but as a training- 
school for the contest which they were to have. All this was but the 
formative, concentrative period which was to try their young strength and 
develop it to maturity. 

Like the infant Hercules crawling from his cradle to throttle the twin 
serpents one in either hand did these young colonies contend with difHculties 
which might well appall the stoutest heart, and they overcame them. The 
savage climate and the more savage aborigines had well nigh annihilated the 
little band. But still they stood by the daring enterprise which seemed so 
perilous. A race of warriors was thus reared hardy of muscle and quick of 
sight, with indomitable courage and perseverance such as was soon to try the 
mettle of the well-trained soldiers of the Mother Country. The conflict 
came. Statesmen and generals and patriot soldiers were not wanting for the 
conflict. 

The night was long and dark and almost starless, but still they watched 
with unequaled patience for the coming morning. Seven weary years of war 
with all its sad experiences of want and misery, of sacrifice and blood came 
upon them. Then it was that these noble men needed such trust in God a.j 



386 LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. 

the Puritan had instilled into his faith, such indomitable perseverance as the 
Germanic element infused with the burning zeal of the Catholic, and the 
inimitable patience of the Huguenot under affliction. And that there was a 
wise design in this protracted war is seen in the fact that the colonies were 
thus knit together as never before by a community of sacrifice and suffering 
in the same cause, and so the bond which was to hold them in sympathy was 
more and more firmly cemented. At length the glorious dawn was ushered 
in ; faint and uncertain at first, like the earliest break of day, but surely 
coming, till soon the sun of liberty rises full and clear on this western land. 
Clouds, dark and portentous, may cross his track and hide him from our view, 
but never again will he set till all the world has felt the warmth which comes 
from his beams. 

Now follows the formative period, when there needed men of wise heads 
and honest hearts to lay the foundations of government upon an unyielding 
basis. That these men who gave us such a document as " The Constitution 
of the United States" were eminently fitted for such a task is amply proven 
by the experimental workings of this Magna Charta of human rights for 
more than a century. 

Wisdom and patriotism in a very marked degree were the characteristics 
of the Federal Congress in the early days of our history. It was most 
eminently fitting that George Washington, who had commanded the army 
during the war of the Revolution, should be the chosen one to inaugurate the 
new government. No other man in all history had so united in himself every 
characteristic of nature's nobleman as he. Right worthy the trust confided to 
him by a grateful people he displayed to the wondering governments of 
Europe an example unequaled by anything which had preceded it. They 
sneeringly had asked the question : Can the American people establish a 
republic after a protracted war, arousing as war was prone to do an ambition 
for power in the breast of the successful chieftain ? The farewell address of 
George Washington to his countrymen, an immortal production, is the 
unhesitating answer to their questioning. 

Now succeeds another period of development unparalleled in all that the 
world had before seen. The government had demonstrated its adaptation to 
the wants of the masses ; it had shown its power to suppress domestic turmoil, 
and now the country is at peace. The pursuits of agriculture, of manufactures 
and of commerce receive the attention of the people. Wealth and commer- 
cial influence very rapidly increase, while throughout all the land there are 
being built up the monuments of intelligence and industry. The liberal arts 
and sciences, these problems which touch the vital interest of such a govern- 
ment as ours, receive ample attention. Our prosperity at home is not equaled 
by our national standing abroad. 

Two of the chief powers of Europe were at war, and while we remain 
strictly neutral they each trample upon our rights as a nation. The one takes 
from our ships of war, by a pretended right of search, men to fill her own 
depleted nary, and they both in turn, by their unrighteous embargoes, unite 



LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. 387 

to cripple our young commerce. France recedes from her position and makes 
restitution ; but the mother land, who has ever behaved in a very step- 
motherly way toward her vigorous child, is compelled to yield only by force 
of arms. In this war, disastrous to both countries, we were enabled to assert 
our national dignity, and to command the respect of other nationalities. That 
this war was needful is clearly seen by the marked increase of our commercial 
interests and the respect paid to our flag by all other powers ; a result which 
immediately followed. And, again, through a period of years the develop- 
ment of our country keeps pace with the loftiest imagination. State after 
State takes its place beside its fellow in the Union. Territory is acquired by 
peaceful purchase from Spain (of Florida) and from France (of Louisiana). 
Texas gravitates to us by the fortunes of war, and the golden land, with 
Arizona and New Mexico, are wrested from a sister republic by the force of 
arms. 

The strong arm of the nation has proved its power in subduing the Indi- 
ans and bringing the Nullifiers of Georgia and the Carolinas to bow to right- 
ful authority. The republic has, by the providence of God, taken a foremost 
place among the powers of the world, and with an enlightenment and liberal- 
ism unknown before has spread her broad arms to the nations and welcomed ■ 
the oppressed of every clime and race to her " asylum of the free." 

Freedom, civil and religious, was proclaimed, in theory, at least, through 
all the land. And thus, as we have hastily sketched, a nation of patriots had 
conquered their independence and had laid the foundation of the best govern- 
ment the world has ever seen. They had developed into a powerful people, 
prosperous at home and respected abroad. This prosperity they had earned 
by their industry, this respect they had won by their swords from willing 
lips. For, while the bitterest hatred of old dynasties in the Eastern World 
still lay smouldering ill-concealed beneath their pretended friendliness, they 
only dared to flatter the rising power they so intensely hated. All the peo- 
pies of the Old World were looking on in amazement to see this experiment 
of popular government prove so successful as it did. Sister republics sprang 
up in the New World modeled upon our Constitution. The trembling mon- 
archies of Europe felt the moral force of such a fact in history as " the United 
States of America " came to be, and they all desired our destruction while 
they feared the power of our example, for the masses in every country where 
a general intelligence prevailed had caught the spirit of liberty borne to them 
on every Western wind, and should the fact be established beyond question 
that the entire people were capable of self-government they would be most likely 
to follow the example thus set them. This caused the monarchs of Europe 
to wear uneasy crowns as they sat upon their tottering thrones. And they 
said, "A violent internal commotion will rend this country asunder, and its 
disrupted States will form rival independencies, and thus the power which we 
fear will ere long overshadow us will be destroyed." This they said and this 
they sincerely hoped. There seemed to be the prospect of a speedy realiza- 
tion of their fond anticipation, for there had been one dark spot upon our 



588 LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. 

otherwise fair escutcheon. It stood out bold and black and repulsive, and 
made us a by-word to the nations. It was this: While we proclaimed univer- 
sal liberty in our immortal Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, 
there was all the time within our own borders a race of serfs cut off from all 
these inalienable rights which we had demanded for every man. 

How to deal with this forbidding question which we had inherited from 
the mother country was a perplexing one to our wisest and best statesmen. 
Good men of all shades of political opinion could not fail to see the fearful 
cloud, small and inauspicious at first, but spreading wider and wider still was 
threatening our destruction. The contest must come sooner or later. Politi- 
cal extremists in either section of the country hastened it to its final issue. 
An appeal to arms, rash as it was wicked, was made. The flag of our common 
country was insulted and disgraced. The authority of the government 
despised and its rightful allegiance set aside. Nothing in all the world would 
give more satisfaction to the enemies of civil liberty in the Eastern continent 
than to see the rebellion prove a success. And so they threw the whole force 
of their sympathy and moral aid, under cover of a pretended neutrality, on 
the side of those who sought to overthrow the government. In this they 
were disappointed. The unrighteous appeal to arms was most disastrous to 
those who made it. The authority of the government was asserted by the 
overthrow of the armed rebellion. The strength of the citizen soldiery which 
the nation could call into the field was appalling to other nationalities. More 
than two million of names were borne upon the muster rolls of the United 
States army, a greater force than Napoleon could command in the height of 
his power. The grand review of the army at the close of the war was a spec- 
tacle unequaled in history. One hundred and eighty thousand strong, they 
marched past the president and the generals of the army, and that, too, when 
many thousands of soldiers equally brave were scattered throughout the 
South. Never before had the world seen such a sight. But these men were 
ready to stack their arms, pack their artillery, and return to the avocations of 
peace. In an incredibly short time they were disbanded ; and to-day you 
will find them in the workshops, the fields, the stores, and all the marts of 
trade throughout our land, from its one extreme to the other. 

Those questions which were left to be solved as the outgrowth of the war 
arc too new and too recent for us to discuss them without bias by our former 
opinions. That ultimately they will be wrought out to a successful issue is 
the hope, yes, the settled belief of every man who recognizes the truth that 
" God ruleth among the nations of the earth," and " he maketh even the 
wrath of man to praise him." Is there no design of Providence in all this 
wonderful history of the past and aspect of the present ? This free land, 
extending from sea to sea, with no abutting nation upon either frontier, 
capable of containing one hundred millions of inhabitants, offers now a home 
to the oppressed of the world ; and they are hastening to its shores, spreading 
over its wide extent, and peopling its towns and villages. The Celtic and 
Teutonic, the Anglo-Saxon and his Germanic cousin, the Scandinavian of 



LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. 389 

Northern Europe and the child of sunny France and Italy. The Asiatic and 
the African are beneath a common flag to-day. The teeming population of 
Europe and Asia came of their own accord, the one part across the ocean 
which laves our Eastern shores, and the other wafted by the softer gales of 
the Pacific to the golden shores of the west. And now they find an equal 
home as they strike glad hands across our free America, 

The dusky sons of Africa are here as well. They came, it is true, as 
Joseph came to the land of Egypt, " whose feet they hurt with fetters." But, 
thank God, those fetters are stricken off to-day. Here there is ample protec- 
tion for all religions alike, the true and the false. The Protestant and the 
Catholic, the Mohammedan and Pagan, the Jew and the Christian of every 
name are on an equal footing before the law. The only conflict there is 
between them is the conflict of argument and ideas, and with a general diffu- 
sion of intelligence among the people the true religion has nothing to fear in 
the unequal contest with the false. If America in the future will keep her 
ballot-box pure and her people rightly educated she need fear nothing that 
that future has in store for her. 

The great duty of America to-day is to civilize, to educate and to christian- 
ize her people. The first of these results will follow from the other two 
united. God has sent the world to our feet for us to enlighten, to instruct, 
and to convert to him. When the great question came to the church of 
Christ, " How shall we bring all men to a knowledge of the truth ? 
How shall we send the light of a pure religion to all the world ? " God him- 
self answered it by sending the nations to us. Here they are to-day, and we 
must christianize them or they will paganize us. The Church can do her great 
part in this work so long as the strong arm of the Government protects the 
freedom of speech and disseminates the light of intelligence to the masses. 
These, then, are the bold questions which affect this common humanity of 
ours, and which America is working out for the world to-day : freedom of 
person and conscience ; universal equality and the brotherhood of the race ; 
the civilization and redemption of all men. If she be true to her trust the 
grandest place in history awaits her, but if she prove false, she will find 
written on the walls of her proudest palaces b)^ the finger of Deity, " Thou art 
weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is given to 
another," which, may heaven forbid ! 

Let us who are here to-day prize, as we should, the blessed inheritance 
which has come down to us from the past. Let us remember that the blood 
of three generations cements the bond which binds this union with its indis- 
soluble chain. The altar of our liberty has been baptized with the richest and 
the noblest blood which ever flowed in human veins. 

The patriots of 1776, of 1812, and of 1861 have vied with each other in 
sacrifices for a common country, and poured out their blood like water to 
enrich the soil from which has sprung this tree of liberty. Long may it flour- 
ish, striking its roots deeper and deeper still into the earth ; higher yet may 
it lift its towering top into the heavens as its branches, outstretching far and 



390 



LESSONS IN OUR HISTORY. 



wide, throw their protection over all the land alike. Nor storms, nor 
tempests' fiercest power can now tear up the giant oak. If e'er it shall 
decay, the worm which feeds upon its life will be the cause. But may God 
forbid. 

Let us, then, swear renewed fidehty to our institutions, to the Constitu* 
tion and the laws of our united land. And with that stern old patriot, 
Andrew Jackson, answer back to the world, •' The Unior; must and shall be 
preserved." 



OUR HERO DEAD. 



God's eternal stars are keeping 

Faithful watch above our dead, 
And His clouds, in pity weeping, 

Bathe each sleeping hero's bed j 
Thus her misty mantle throwing 

'Round each sacred resting-place, 
Nature keenest sorrow showing, 

Veils awhile her tearful face. 

Day and night, with varied changes. 

Hasten through the restless years. 
Swift-winged time, whose flight estranges 

Friendship's mingled joys and fears, 
Heals the wounds of bitter anguish 

Caused by deeds of angry strife, 
When the hearts in sorrow languish 

Brings its buried hopes to life. 

But our vows can not be broken 

Lightly as the spider's thread ; 
Vows in earnest whispers spoken, 

When we laid away our dead. 
And those deeds are not forgotten 

Which they wrought amid the brave, — 
Deeds of manly hearts begotten, 

Shedding luster o'er each grave. 

Low the gentle winds are sighing, 

Through the cypress and the pine, 
O'er the holy dust now lying 

Where their shadows dark entwine, 
And the soft and mournful cadence 

Of their plaintive, sad refrain, 
Breathing like a heavenly presence, 

Sing the tribute to our slain. 



Where the Nazarene was taken. 

Laid within a new-made grave. 
There by friend and foe forsaken, 

Was there not a spirit brave. 
Who had found the situation 

In the dismal midnight gloom, 
Taking then his humble station, 

Warden of the Saviour's tomb ? 

Thus would I, the office prizing. 

Stand beside our honored dead. 
While within my bosom rising, 

Thoughts that glory's luster shed. 
For the sacred voice would listen, 

" Weep not here with heart forlorn, 
Though like pearls your tea-drops glisten. 

Hail with joy the risen morn." 

Long in sorrow we have waited, 

For the passing of the storm. 
And the morning so belated. 

Lo ! there comes an angel form, 
Bidding us " No more in sadness 

Shed our bitter, scalding tears. 
For in that bright world of gladness 

Light shall shine through countless years." 

See ! the thinning clouds, now rifted 

Here and there, disclose the blue : 
Where their parted folds have lifted 

Breaks the sun upon our view. 
And his promise for the morrow 

Cheers our hearts amid the gloom j 
Bids us banish every sorrow ; 

Sheds a radiance 'round their tomb. 



J. H. B. 



ADMINISTRATION OF CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



391 



A number of prominent men died during the early months of 1883, oi 
whom the following deserve special mention : Honorable Marshal Jewell, of 
Connecticut, formerly United States minister to the court of St. Petersburg, 
postmaster-general and governor of his adopted State, died at his residence in 
Hartford, Connecticut, upon the loth day of February. He was born in New 
Hampshire, October 20th, 1825, where he was bred to the trade of a tanner. 
He established business in Hartford in 1850 as a manufacturer of leather 
belting. His talents, public spirit, and interest in State affairs gave him great 
prominence. He was governor of the State in 1869, 1871, 1872. In 1873 he 
went as minister to Russia, where he learned the secret of manufacturing 
Russia leather, which he imparted to the public of the United States. In 
1874 he was appointed postmaster-general, which office he resigned before the 
close of the administration of President Grant. 

Honorable Edwin D. Morgan, of New York, was born at Washington, Berk- 
shire County, Massachusetts, February 8th, 181 1. His family were plain, simple 
farmers of that sterling type which seldoip 
fails to make its mark in this country when 
opportunity serves, either in the field or in 
the councils of the State. In 1828 he entered 
into business as a clerk in a wholesale grocery 
In Hartford, Connecticut, and in 1831 became 
a partner in the business. Five years after- 
ward he came to New York, where he es- 
tablished a most successful house, and where 
he soon began to exercise that influence 
vdiich was to be expected from his upright- 
ness and abilities. In 1843-53 he was elected 
a State senator for New York ; and became 
governor from 1859 ^^ 1862, performing hi"^ 
duties during that trying period with an in 
telligence, a patriotism and a decision which 'il 
were acknowledged by all parties. In 1861 
-62 he became a major-general of volunteers 
without pay, investing the post with character- 
istics creditable alike to himself and to his country. In 1863-69 Mr. Morgan 
was elected to the United States senate, and in 1865 he was offered the 
position of secretary of the treasury, which he then declined. He was 
appointed to this position after Mr. Arthur became president, and accepted 
the office. He also died in February. 

Honorable Alexander H. Stephens^ governor of the State of Georgia, 
died at Atlanta in that State, March 4th. His life had been long— over 'rj 




HON. EDWIN D. MORGAN. 



392 ADMINISTRATION OF CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 

years — active, and in some respects heroic. He was the son of a planter, and 
was born on his father's plantation in Georgia. When he was fourteen years old 
his father died, but good friends came to his aid and lent him money to enable 
him to procure an education. Though he had intended to study theology he 
took to the law, and was admitted to the bar in 1834. He was very successful, 
and though he was in delicate health and weighed only ninety-six pounds he was 
active and ambitious. In 1836 he was elected to the State assembly, to which 
he was five times re-elected. He declined a re-election in 1841, but was 
returned to the State senate in 1842. In 1843 he was elected to congress. 
where he remained till 1859. During the exciting events preceding the civil 
war years, though a firm advocate of State sovereignty he was by no means 
a disunionist. In i860 he warmly advocated the election of Douglas. When 
Lincoln was elected, and a majority of the Georgia legislation favored 
secession, Mr. Stephens was outspoken against it. But when Georgia seceded 
he went with her, and was elected vice-president of the confederacy. In 1866 
he was elected United States senator from Georgia, but was not allowed to 
take his seat. In 1872 he was elected to congress, where he remained till 
1882, retiring on his own desire. He was elected governor of Georgia in the 
fall of 1882. Mr. Stephens possessed many fine qualities. He was amiable, 
courageous, eloquent and upright. His popularity in Georgia was very great, 
and the mourning for him there was general and sincere. 

Postmaster-General Timothy O. Howe died at his home in the city of 
Madison, Wisconsin, March 25th, 1883. Mr. Howe has been for many years 
one of the most prominent republicans in national politics. He was the fore- 
most of Wisconsin's politicians. He was a New Englander by birth, having 
been born in Livermore, Oxford county, Maine, on February 7th, 1816. He 
Feceived an academical education at the Readfield Seminary, studied law and 
was admitted to the bar in 1839. ^^ settled at Readfield and was elected to 
the legislature of Maine in 1845. ^^ the latter part of that year he removed 
to Green Bay, Wis., and was elected a circuit judge in 1850, holding that 
office until 1859, when he resigned. In 1861 he was elected a United States 
senator from Wisconsin for the term ending March 4th, 1867. In January, 
1867, he was re-elected to the senate for the term ending in 1873. At the 
conclusion of this term Mr. Howe returned to Wisconsin and engaged in 
business, from which he was called by President Arthur to the postmaster- 
generalship. As postmaster-general his management has been marked by the 
institution of many measures of economy and of reform in the postal service. 

Peter Cooper, an eminent philanthropist of New York, died in that city 
April 4th, 1883, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. He had been born 
in humble circumstances, and by his own endeavors had attained a high social 
and public position. He founded and endowed the Cooper Institute for the 
advancement of education among the people. He was esteemed as a man of 
exalted moral character and extensive public spirit. 



ION OF i 



In Congress, July 4th, 1776. 
By the Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled. 
A DECLARATION, 



HEN, in the course of human events, it becomes 
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands 
which have connected them with another, and to 
assume among the powers of the earth the separate 
and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
nature's God entitled them, a decent respect for the 
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare 
the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : — that all men are 
created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness ; that, to secure these rights, governments are 
instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent 
of the governed ; that whenever any form of government becomes 
destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or to 
abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such 
principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most 
likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate 
that governments long established should not be changed for light and 
transient causes ; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind 
are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves 
by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long 
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, 
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it 
is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for 
their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; 
and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former sys- 
tem of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a 
history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the 
establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let 
facts be submitted to a candid world. 




394 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for 
the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing 
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be 
obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to 
them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large 
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of repre- 
sentation in the legislature — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to 
tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncom- 
fortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the 
sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with 
manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to 
be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have 
returned to the people at large for their exercise ; the State remaining, in the 
mean time, exposed to all the danger ot invasion from without and convulsions 
within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for that 
purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass 
others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new 
appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to 
laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their 
offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of 
officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the 
consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the 
civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to 
our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving his assent to their 
acts of pretended legislation, — 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders 
which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States : 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world • 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent : 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury: 

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offenses : 

For abolishing the free system of English law in a neighboring province 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 395 

establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so 
as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the 
same absolute rule into these colonies : 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and 
altering fundamentally the forms of our government : 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested 
with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his protection, 
and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and 
destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries, to 
complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun, with 
circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralled in the most barbarous 
ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens taken captive on the high seas, 
to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their 
friends and brethren or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to 
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose 
known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, 
and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the 
most humble terms ; our petitions have been answered only by repeated 
injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may 
define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We 
have warned them, from time to time, of attempts made by their legislature 
to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them 
of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have 
appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured 
them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, 
which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. 
They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We 
must therefore acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, 
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war — in peace, 
friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of- America, in 
general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world 
for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the name and by the authority of 
the good people of these colonies solemnly publish and declare that these 
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States ; 
that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all 
political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as independent States, they have fuU 



39^ 



DFXLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce^ 
and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. 
And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protec- 
tion of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our 
fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

Signed by order and in behalf of the Congress. 

JOHN HANCOCK, President. 

Attested, CHARLES THOMPSON, Secretary. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

JOSIAH BaRTLETT, 

William Whipple, 
Matthew Thornton. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 
Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine, 
Elbridge Gerry. 

RHODE ISLAND, Etc, 

Stephen Hopkins, 
William Ellery. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
William Williams, 
Oliver Wolcott. 

NEW YORK. 
William Floyd, 
Philip Livingston, 
Francis Lewis, 
Lewis Morris. 

NEW JERSEY. 
Richard Stockton, 
John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, 
John Hart, 
Abraham Clark. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
Robert Morris, 
Benjamin Rush, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
John Morton, 
George Clymer, 



James Smith, 
George Taylor, 
James Wilson, 
George Ross, 

DELAWARE. 

Ca'Sar Rodney, 
George Read, 
Thomas M'Kean. 

MARYLAND. 

Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, 
Thomas Stone, 
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, 

VIRGINIA. 
George Wythe, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison, 
Thomas Nelson, Jr., 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
Carter Braxton. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 
William Hooper, 
Joseph Hewes, 
John Penn. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 
Edward Rutledge, 
Thomas Hey ward, Jr., 
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 
Arthur Middleton. 

GEORGIA. 

Button Gwinnett, 
Lyman Hall, 
George Walton. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA. 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common de- 
fense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of 
the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

Section I. — All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

Sec. II. — I. The House of Representatives shall be composed of mem- 
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several States ; and the 
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of the State in which he 
shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the sev- 
eral States which may be included within this Union, according to their 
respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number 
of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and ex- 
cluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual 
enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, 
in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives 
shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at 
least one representative ; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State 
of New Haynpshire shall be entitled to choose three ; Massac/msetts, eight ; 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one ; Conneetient, five ; New York, 
six; New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six; 
Virginia, ten ; North Carolina, five ; South Carolina, five ; Georgia, three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the ex- 
ecutive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other 
officers, and thall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sec. III. — I. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 



398 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years ; and 
each senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three classes. The 
seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and the 
third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen 
every second year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise, dur- 
ing the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make 
temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall 
then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be 
chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be president of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore in the absence of the vice-president, or when he shall exercise the 
office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall preside; and no 
person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers present. 

7. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust, or profit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall, never- 
theless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, 
according to law. 

Sec. IV. — The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators 
and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature there- 
of ; but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, 
except as to the places of choosing senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year ; and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
appoint a different day. 

Sec. V. — I. Each house shall be judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members ; and a majority of each shall constitute a 
quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members in such 
manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
expel a member. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 399 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and, from time to 
time, publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, 
require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on 
any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on 
the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the con- 
sent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. VI. — I. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensa- 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury 
of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the 
session of their respective houses, and in going to or returning from the same ; 
and for any speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in 
any other place. 

2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have 
been increased, during such time ; and no person holding any office under the 
United States shall be a member of either house during his continuance in 
office. 

Sec. VII. — I. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as 
on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of the 
United States ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, 
with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall 
enter the objections at large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. 
If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house ; and if 
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such 
cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the 
names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the 
journals of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the 
President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented 
to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return ; in which case it shall not 
be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Sen- 
ate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of 
adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States, and 
before the same shall take effect shall be approved by him or, being disap- 
proved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of 



400 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case 
of a bill. 

Sec. VIII. — The Congress shall have power — 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises; to pay the 
debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United 
States : but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the 
United States : 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States : 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes : 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States: 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures : 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States : 

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads : 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for 
limited times, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries : 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court : 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations : 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water : 

12. To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money to that 
use shall be for a longer term than two years : 

13. To provide and maintain a navy: 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces : 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions : 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and 
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the 
officers, and the authority of training the militia, according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress: 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cessionof particular States, 
and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of the United 
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent 
of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of 
forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings : And, 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this con^ 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 401 

stitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or 
officer thereof. 

Sec. IX. — I. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
States, now existing, shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by 
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight ; but a 
tax or duty may be imposed on such importations, not exceeding ten dollars 
for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require 
it. 

3. No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, shall be passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. No 
preference shall be given, by any regulation of commerce or revenue, to the 
ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to or from 
one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

6. No money shall be drawn from the ^treasury, but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to 
time. 

7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of 
any kind whatever^ from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Sec. X. — I. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confed- 
eration ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of 
credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; 
pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
contracts ; or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all duties and imposts 
laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury 
of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and 
control of the Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, 
lay any duty on tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign power, 
or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will 
not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

Sec. I. — I. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 



402 COxNSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be 
elected as follows : 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and 
representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress ; but no 
senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under 
the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

3. [Annulled. See Amendments, art. 12.] 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to the 
ofifice of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who 
shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a 
resident within the United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office, the 
same shall devolve on the Vice-President ; and the Congress may by law 
provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both Of the 
President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, 
and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a 
President shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com- 
pensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period 
for which he shall have been elected ; and he shall not receive, within that 
period, any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the follow- 
ing oath or affirmation : — 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office 
of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States." 

Sec. II. I. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army 

and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when 
called into the actual service of the United States : he may require the 
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices ; and 
he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 
ate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur ; and 
he shall nominate, and by and with the adyice and consent of the Senate shall 
appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the 
supreme court, and all other officers of the United States whose appoint- 
ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 403 

by law. But the Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior 
officers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in 
the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions, which shall 
expire at the end of their next session. 

Sec. III. — He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress informa- 
tion of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordi- 
nary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disa- 
greement between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may 
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassa- 
dors, and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed ; and shall commission all the officers of the United States. 

Sec. IV. — The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and convic- 
tion of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemoanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Sec. I. — The judicial power of the United States shall be Vested in one 
supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from time to 
time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior 
courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished 
during their continuance in office. 

Sec. II. — I. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and 
equity arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases 
affecting ambassadors, and other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United 
States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more States ; 
between a State and citizens of another State ; between citizens of different 
States ; between citizens of the same State, claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
States, citizens or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls 
and those in which a State shall be a party, the supreme couft shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the supreme court 
shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, 
and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have 
been committed ; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be 
at such a place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 



404 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Sec. III. — I. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- 
mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confessions in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason ; 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except • 
during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Sec. I. — Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Con- 
gress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, 
and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec. II. — I. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand 
of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up to 
be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, 
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered upon claim 
of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sec. III. — I. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union, but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of 
any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more 
States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislature of the States 
Concerned, as well as of the tongress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to 
the United States ; and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as 
to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Sec. IV. — The United States shall guarantee to every State of this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and, on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the 
legislature can not be convened), against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, 
shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, on the application of the 
legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for pro- 
posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and 
purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three- 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 405 

fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as 
the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; 
provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one 
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and 
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, with- 
out its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

1. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States 
under this constitution as under the confederation. 

2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the 
constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members 
of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both 
of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by an oath or 
affirmation to support this constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be 
required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United 
States. 

ARTICLE Vn. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufificient for 
the establishment of this constitution between the States so ratifying the 
same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof, we have hereunto 
subscribed our names. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

President, and Deputy from Virginia. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. NEW YORK. 

John Langdon, Alexander Hamilton. 

Nicholas Oilman. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
Nathaniel Gorham, NEW JERSEY. 

RuFus King. William Livingston, 

CONNECTICUT. David Brearlev, 

Wm. Samuel Johnson, William Patterson, 

Roger Sherman. Jonathan Dayton. 



4o6 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 

Benjamin Franklin, 
Thomas Mifflin, 
Robert Morris, 
George Clymer, 
Thomas Fitzsimons, 
Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, 
Gouverneur Morris. 

DELAWARE. 
George Read, 
Gunning Bedford, Jr., 
John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassett, 
Jacob Broom. 

MARYLAND. 

James M'Henry, 

Dan'l of St. Tho. Jenifer, 

Daniel Carroll. 



VIRGINIA. 

John Blair, 
James Madison, Jr. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

William Blount, 
Rich. Dobbs Spaight, 
Hugh Williamson. 

SOUTH CAROLINA, 

John Rutledge, 
Charles C. Pinckney, 
Charles Pinckney, 
Pierce Butler. 

GEORGIA. 

William Few, 
Abraham Baldwin. 



Attest, WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Art. I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and 
to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

Art. II. — A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a 
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

Art. III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be 
prescribed by the law. 

Art. IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by 
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and 
the persons or things to be seized. 

Art. V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, 
except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in 
actual service, in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be sub- 
ject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall 
be compelled, in any criminal case, to be witness against himself, nor be de- 
prived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall* 
private property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Art. VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right 
to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been 



CONSTITITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 407 

previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of 
the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and to have the 
assistance of counsel for his defense. 

Art. VII. — In suits of common law, where the value in controversy 
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved ; and 
no fact, tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the 
United States than according to the rules of the common law. 

Art. VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
posed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Art. IX. — The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Art. X. — The powers not delegated.to the United States by the consti- 
tution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respec- 
tively, or to the people. 

Art. XI. — The judicial power of the United States shall not be con- 
strued to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted 
against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign State. 

Art. XII. — I. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be 
an inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall name in their 
ballots the persons voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person 
voted for as Vice-President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of 
the number of votes for each ; which hsts they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government of the United States, 
directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the Senate shall, in 
the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
certificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; the person having the 
greatest number of votes for President shall be President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest number, not exceed- 
ing three, on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Represen' 
tatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But, in choosing 
the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each 
State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member 
or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States 
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not 
choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall 
act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of 
the President. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President 
shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole 



4o8 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from 
the two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-Presi- 
dent ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole 
number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the ofifice of President shall 
be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. 

Art. XIII. — I. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- 
lation. 

Art. XIV. — i. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and 
of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the 
equal protection of the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several States accord- 
ing to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in 
each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any 
election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the 
United States, representatives in Congress, the executive or judicial officers 
of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of 
the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and 
citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation 
in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be 
reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear 
to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector 
of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the 
United States, or under any State, who having previously taken an oath as a 
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of 
any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to 
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrec- 
tion or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove 
such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, 
including debts incurred for payments of pensions and bounties for services 
in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither 
the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation 
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any 



EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 409 

claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obliga^ 
tions, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provisions of this article. 

Art. XV. — i. The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account 
of race, color or previous condition of servitude. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a Proclamation was issued 
by the President of the United States, containing among other things the 
following, to wit : 

" That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or 
designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against 
the United States, shall be then, thenceforward and forever free, and the exec- 
utive government of the United States, including the military and naval 
authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, 
and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any 
efforts they may make for their actual freedom." 

"That the executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proc- 
lamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people 
thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the United States, and 
the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good 
faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen 
thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State 
shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testi- 
mony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof 
are not then in rebellion against the United States." 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, 
by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-chief of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, in time of actual armed rebellion against the 
authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war 



410 EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 

measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accord- 
ance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaim for the full period of one 
hundred days from the day the first above-mentioned, order and designate, as 
the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are this 
day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit : 

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, 
Plaquemines, Jefferson, St John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assump- 
tion, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including 
the city of New Orleans), MISSISSIPPI, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South 
Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight coun- 
ties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, 
Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including 
the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are, for the 
present, left precisely as if this Proclamation were not issued. 

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and 
declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts 
of States are, and henceforward shall be free ; and that the executive govern- 
ment of the United States, including the military and naval authorities there- 
of, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. 

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to abstain 
from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense, and I recommend to them 
that in all cases, when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. 

And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable con- 
dition will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison 
forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in 
said service. 

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted 
by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judg- 
ment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, and caused the seal 
of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washmgtoti, this first day of January^ in the 

[L. S.] year of our Lord one thousaiid eight hundred a?td sixty-three, 

and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. 

Abraham Lincoln. 
By the President : 

William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, 



i883] ARTHUR'S ADMINISTRATION (CONTINUED). 411 




CONVENTION of delegates representing the Irish 
Land League of the United States met in the city of 
Philadelphia the last week in April, and united with 
a similar convention of the Irish National League of 
America. This convention represented the sentiment of 
many thousand Irish-American citizens, who sympathize 
with the peaceable agitation of the question of a just home 
government for Ireland. The plan is thus fairly expressed by 
the president of the league : " The idea is to enlist the sympathy 
of the American and other people by an honest representation of 
facts. The statements will show how agriculture and the indus- 
tries have suffered by English legislation, and how they could 
thrive under self-government. Mr. Parnell will tell what successes 
have been achieved, what obstacles encountered, what hopes are 
entertained, what is expected of Irishmen here, and what the 
relations are between the two countries. Funds will be raised the same 
as by the Land League, and expended in relieving distress and keeping up 
the agitation, which funds will be sent to the Irish National League in Great 
Britain." 

General B. F. Butler, governor of Massachusetts, caused an official 
investigation to be made into the management of the State's almshouse at 
Tewksbury, and removed the board of trustees, appointing the board of 
public charities to act in their place pending the result of the investigation. 
The investigation still continues as we go to press. 

The final session of the forty-seventh congress closed at noon March 4th. A 
bill for the revision of the tariff was passed as a compromise measure. There 
had been a distinct bill passed by the senate, another by the house of represen- 
tatives, and neither branch would concur with the other, so this compromise 
measure, embodying some of the features of both, was finally enacted. 
It passed the house by a vote of one hundred and fifty-two to one hun- 
dred and fifteen. It was satisfactory to no one, and presented very 
many inconsistencies in itself. The internal duties were entirely removed 
from bank checks and deposits, and also from sundry articles of domestic 
manufactures, while the tax on tobacco and cigars was reduced. The total 
reduction from the tariff and the internal revenue by the operations of this 
law is estimated at sixty-five to seventy million dollars annually. A law 
increasing the pensions of soldiers disabled in the civil war of 1861-65 was also 
enacted, also a law reducing the rate of domestic postage from three cents to 
two. A " civi' service " bill was passed, the fast mail service was retained, and 



412 ARTHUR'S ADMINISTRATION (CONTINUED.) [1883 

a law prohibiting the importation of adulterated teas. To the great credit 
of this congress they refused to pass another " river and harbor bill "and other 
measures of questionable public policy ; but many of the proper recommenda- 
tions of the president were entirely neglected. Honorable David Davis, of 
Illinois, who had been vice-president pro tcm. since the promotion of Mr. 
Arthur, resigned that office, and Honorable George F. Edmonds, of Vermont, 
was elected in his stead March 3d. 

An envoy from the island of Madagascar was entertained as the guests of 
the government, and a commercial treaty of mutual advantage to the two 
governments was signed at Washington before the adjournment of congress. 
The marquis of Lome, governor-general of Canada, was also a public guest 
at the capital for a few days. Commodore R. W. Shufeldt, U.S.N., was 
sent by the government in 1878 with the Ticondcroga to negotiate a 
commercial treaty with Corea, an Asiatic kingdom, under tribute to China, 
" the hermit nation," but all advances were repelled by that government in 
1880, upon which he returned to the United States ; but a subsequent visit of 
Commodore Shufeldt resulted in a treaty with that power May 22d, 1882. This 
treaty, which has reference to aid to shipwrecked American sailors in Corea, 
privileges in the country, the prohibition of the opium trade, and the purchase 
of munitions of war, the appointment of consuls, and other mutual relations, 
was ratified by the senate in February, 1883. Mr. Gustavus Goward, secretary 
of legation at Japan, was dispatched to Corea to obtain an exchange of rati^ 
fication. The following appointments were confirmed by the senate : John 
W. Foster, minister to Spain ; Dorman B. Eaton, of New York, John M. 
Gregory, of Illinois, and L. D. Thorman, of Ohio, to be civil service commis- 
sioners. The public indebtedness was reduced about eight millions of dollars 
in February, and somewhat more in March. In the State of Georgia, John S. 
Boynton, president of the senate, was duly qualified as governor in the place 
of Alexander H. Stephens, deceased. 

The United States steamer AsJiuclot was lost in the China Sea, February 
2 1st, and eleven of the crew were drowned by the disaster. Upon the same 
date the steamer Moro Castle was burned at Charleston, South Carolina. 

The winter and spring of 1882-83 will be long remembered for the exten- 
sive and disastrous floods upon the Mississippi River and its numerous trib- 
utaries, by which a vast number of citizens were rendered destitute. The 
commercial cities of the Union responded to the cry for aid most liberally, 
and much money was sent to the places where there had been the greatest 
suffering. 

The second trial of the star route conspirators began in December, 1882, 
and continued for more than five months. One of the defendants in the suit, 
Mr. Rirdell, gave testimony for the government which was most damaging to 
the defense. The principal defendants were put upon the witness stand and 
subjected to a thorough and critical cross-examination by the government. 
Able and exhaustive arguments were made by counsel, and the trial stiU 
continues as this volume is being printed. 



1884.1 



GROVER CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRATION. 



41S 



GROVER CLEVELAND, 



The public career of Grover Cleveland presents an example of rapid 
success probably unparalleled in the history of public men. Before his elec- 
tion as Governor of New York State he had held no higher office than that 
of Mayor of Buffalo ; but his triumphant victory over Charles J. Folger, 
Secretary of the Treasury, in 1882, placing him at the head of the Empire 
State by a majority of nearly two hundred thousand votes, and his successful 
administration gave him the prestige which placed him in the proud position 
he now fills as President. He was born 
at Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, 
March 18, 1837. His father was a min- 
ister. After receiving a common-school 
education young Cleveland was sent to the 
academy situated at Clinton, Oneida Coun- 
ty, N. Y. Upon leaving this seat of learn- 
ing he went to New York City, where he 
filled the position of clerk in an institution 
of charity. He is next heard of making his 
way to Cleveland, Ohio; but visiting, while 
on the way, an uncle residing in Buffalo, he 
was induced to remain in that city as clerk 
in the store of his relative. He was eighteen 
years of age at the time, an ambitious young 
fellow, possessed of the earnest desire to be- 
come a successful lawyer, and we soon find 
the youth a clerk in the office of a promi- 
nent law firm. He was admitted to the bar 
in 1859. His first political office was as As- 
sistant District Attorney for the County of 
Erie, under C. C. Torrance. He held the 
position three .years, until the end of his superior's term of office, when he 
was nominated for District Attorney on the Democratic ticket, but was 
defeated. In 1870 he was elected Sheriff of Erie County; and in 1881 was 
elected Mayor of Buffalo by a decided majority. In the fall election of 
1882 Mr. Cleveland was elected Governor of New York. His administration 
gave great satisfaction. He began his Presidential term supported by the 
good-will of all classes throughout the nation. 




GROVER CLEVELAND. 



414 



GROVER CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRATION. 



[1884 



THOMAS A. HENDRICKS, 



Thomas A. Hendricks was born in Ohio on the 7th of September, 
1819. He was graduated from South Hanover College in that State in 
1840, when he removed to Chambersburg, Pa., and began the study of law. 
When admitted to the bar his career opened auspiciously, and he became a 
lawyer of excellent standing. In 1848 he was elected to* the State Legisla- 
ture, and in 1850 was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention. 
The next year he was elected to the House of Representatives, and in 1853 

his term expired. He was appointed Com- 
missioner of the General Land Office by 
President Pierce, and from this on he has 
been one of the most important political 
characters in Indiana. In i860 he ran for 
Governor against Henry S. Lane, and was 
defeated. He was elected to the United 
States Senate in 1863 for the long term. 
Here he served with marked ability in the 
Committees on Claims, Public Buildings 
and Grounds, the Judiciary, Public Lands, 
and Naval Affairs. After leaving the Sen- 
ate in 1869 he practised law until 1872. 
He was then elected Governor of the State 
by a majority of 1,148. 

His name was presented to the Con- 
vention in 1868 as candidate for the Presi- 
dency. Again, in 1872, he was proposed 
as a candidate in the National Convention, 
and but for the fusions of that time he 
would probably have been the nominee of 
his party. He was nominated for Vice- 
President in 1876, and between that memorable contest and his nomination 
and election to the Vice-Presidency in 1884 his professional duties engrossed 
the greater part of his attention. Mr. Hendricks was a skilful public speaker 
and a learned lawyer, and his services as a statesman gave him an honorable 
position among public men. 

He was married near Cincinnati on the 25th of September, 1845, to Miss 
Eliza C. Morgan, by whom he had one son, born in 1848, but who lived to 
be only three years of age. The sudden death of Mr. Hendricks in the fall of 
1885, cast a gloom over the entire country. 




THOMAS A. HENDRICKS. 




HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 
KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 

'HAT vast industrial organization, known to the world as 
the Knights of Labor, is one of the wonders of the age. 
Eighteen years ago it was not yet in existence ; six years 
ago it was weak and unknown ; to-day it has a net- 
work of organizations which cover the American con- 
tinent. It has found lodgment in France, Belgium, and 
England. Knights of Labor can be found on the five 
continents. The Order has been accorded an amount of atten- 
tion seldom given to any organization ; and it can be said 
without exaggeration that it is exerting a greater influence on 
material affairs and public opinion than any other organization 
in existence. The Chartist movement in England sprang into 
existence, accomplished an object, and died. The Repeal 
movement in Ireland was the concrete expression of a people 
groaning under oppression. It passed away. The Anti-Slavery 
Leagues of America were the outgrowth of decades of agita- 
tion, favored by fortunate circumstances. So with the Irish 
Land League. It was born, raised, and ended 
within three years, after leaving its mark on 
current history. 

All of these great movements, similar in 
their nature, were backed either by religious 
or national sentiments which were inspired by 
poets, orators, and historians. Not so with 
the Knights of Labor. That Order was start- 
ed under the most adverse, commonplace, and 
inauspicious circumstances, by a most unpre- 
tentious set of workmen. Most organizations 
start out with a flourish of trumpets, stim- 
ulated by ^clat, ceremony, and a certain 
amount of publicity. In the case of the 
Knights of Labor ^clat was out of the ques- 
tion, ceremony impossible (for only seven 
men were present), and publicity was dreaded. 
Never did any other organization begin under 
such unfavorable conditions. The wonder is 
that it did not die before it was born. 

Two men were associated in the work of bringing the " Noble and Holy 
Order of the Knights of Labor " into existence. The name and history — even 

(415) 




URIAH S. STEPHENS, 
Founder K. 0/ L. 



4i6 



HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 



the existence — of one of them is shrouded in mystery, and probably never 
will be known. The heart, the soul, and brains of the project was Uriah S. 
Stephens, a journeyman tailor, a native of New Jersey, and a resident of 
Philadelphia. He was an humble, industrious, God-fearing man. Four years 
ago he died almost unknown, but time and events have since given him " a 
niche in the Temple of Fame." The question has been asked : Why did he 
start the Order? He was an old trades unionist. When he reached the age 
of manhood trades unionism was in its infancy, and when he had reached the 
middle age it had made but little progress. No trade or labor organization 
had yet become nationalized. He saw the defects of the existing unions. 
There was no concert of action between them ; a fraternal feeling was want- 
ing ; and a spirit of aristocracy was prevalent in union circles. The printer, 

the machinist, the watchmaker, and engineer 
looked down upon men engaged in the more 
laborious branches of industry. While all 
were struggling to better their condition, 
none of them seemed to be guided by a 
higher motive than a desire to get a slight 
advance of wages. 

As far back as 1 86 1, in writing to a fellow- 
unionist, residing in New York, Mr. Stephens 
said : " I speak to you of unions as they now 
exist. To be candid with you, I will say that 
I have little or no faith in their power to raise 
the toiler to the position he should occupy in 
this favored land. They are too narrow in 
their ideas, and too circumscribed in their 
field of operations. None of them look be- 
yond a city, and few of them look a year 
ahead. This is to be regretted. I do not 
claim to be gifted with the power of proph- 
ecy, but I can see ahead of me an organization 
It will include men and women of every craft 
and creed and color; it will cover every race worth saving. It will come in 
my time, I hope. Its groundwork will be secrecy, its rule obedience, and its 
guiding star will be mutual assistance. It will make labor honorable and 
profitable, and lessen its burdens ; it will make idleness a crime, render wars 
impossible, and obliterate national lines. Its pioneers will be denounced, 
reviled, and persecuted ; traitors will betray it, corporations will try to strangle 
it, and despots will place their iron heels upon it ; but it will spring up, 
'I'lossom, flourish, and eventually cover the whole earth." 

In a letter which he subsequently wrote to the same man, Mr. Stephens 
informed him that he and a friend were devoting their leisure hours in laying 
die groundwork of an organization such as he had spoken of in his previous 
letter. Nothing more was heard of the project until August, 1869. During 




HUGH CAMERON, 
K. 0/ L. Gen. Co-operative Board. 

which will cover this globe. 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 



417 



that month Robert Blissert, the well-known New York labor agitator, who 
afterward founded the New York Central Labor Union, had occasion to visit 
Philadelphia on business connected with the Tailors' Union, of which he was 
a member. In the course of his business Mr. Blissert was thrown into Uriah 
Stephens' company. Blissert was then very active in the labor movement, 
and Mr. Stephens concluded that it would be well to talk the matter over 
with him. He unfolded his plan to him. His intention, he said, was to bring 
no one but clothing cutters into the Order at first. He wanted to have the 
clothing trade thoroughly organized at first. That, he thought, would take 
years, but he was willing that it should. He was more anxious for stability 
than extent of the organization. If matters went on as he hoped for, he 
would then gradually enroll other branches of tailors. Mr. Blissert advised 
him against such a policy. He said an organ- 
ization of that character was too grand an 
idea to be confined to any one industry, and 
he strongly urged Mr. Stephens to admit to 
membership all worthy men, whether they 
worked with a needle, a pen, or a plow. 

Mr. Stephens had already consulted several 
of his fellow-craftsmen on the subject. He 
thought the time opportune for starting the 
Knights of Labor. He was puzzled in select- 
ing a name for the Order. He was afraid 
that in a republic the name '* Knights of 
Labor " would not be popular. The names 
of the Brotherhood of Labor, the Industrial 
League, the Brotherhood of Industry, and 
the Sovereigns of Industry suggested them- 
selves to him. He finally decided upon the 
title the Order now bears. He argued that 
workingmen had been called the " Mudsills 
of Society," and that the title of " Knight " 
would serve to impress upon them an idea of the dignity of labor. He said 
that as in the middle ages knights had been the protectors of the defenceless, 
so, too, in our time the Knights of Labor would be the defenders of those who 
needed defence and who were worthy of defending. Two other ideas moved 
him. He was a hater of labor strikes; and he determined, if possible, to 
prevent them — to bring employes and employers together so that they might 
settle their differences by arbitration. He had seen workingmen pauperized 
by strikes and employers bankrupted. He therefore thought it time to stop 
that costly sort of warfare. He was a firm believer in co-operation, and he 
was impressed with the idea that through organization and education work- 
men might become their own employers, and thereby reap all the fruits of 
their labor. He had an abiding faith that in time all who worked for wages 
would be converted to his way of thinking. 




JOHN G. CAVILLE, 

General A uditor. 



4i8 



HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 



These were thoughts that filled his mind when he called six of his fellow- 
craftsmen together on Thanksgiving Day, November, 1869, at his residence in 
Philadelphia. There were only seven men present at that simple, but im- 
portant, conference. They were Uriah S. Stephens, James L. Wright, William 
Fennimore, Henry L. Sinexson, and three others whose names are not obtain- 
able. Five of them have since died. James L. Wright still resides in Phila- 
delphia, and he is an active organizer of the Order, acting under the jurisdiction 
of District Assembly No. i, and doing excellent work. Henry L. Sinexson is 
still living. Mr. Stephens unfolded his plans to them, and explained them at 
length. Some of those present doubted the practicability of the movement, 

but all agreed to the desirability of it ; and 
all expressed a willingness to further the 
organization, for, as they said, it was well 
worth trying. Mr, Stephens' enthusiasm en- 
couraged them, and they left the house that 
evening full-fledged Knights of Labor, pio- 
neers of a new movement, preachers of a 
new idea. 

Mr. Stephens impressed upon them the 
absolute necessity of inviolable secrecy re- 
garding the movement, saying : " Open and 
public associations having failed after a cen- 
tury's struggle either to protect or advance 
the interests of labor, we constitute this Order 
not to shield or promote wrong-doing, but to 
protect ourselves from the persecution of men 
in our own sphere and calling as well as those 
out of it." 

The Declaration of Principles, which are 
given in full further on, in the part of this 
article that treats of the first General Assembly, was the chart of the organ- 
ization. It declares the objects of the Order to be — co-operation ; weekly pay- 
ment of wages; the abolition of contract labor; arbitration instead of strikes 
in settling labor troubles; "equal pay for men and women for equal work"; 
the adoption of the eight hours' system ; the abolition of convict contract 
labor, of child labor, and the formation of bureaus of labor statistics. 

The parent branch of the Order was called the Sons of Adam, and after- 
ward Local Assembly No. i of the Knights. Its growth was slow to a 
wearisome degree, because the greatest care was taken in selecting members. 
This is the method in which members were selected : A man, who was already 
a member, would speak in a guarded manner to a fellow-workman about the 
necessity of an organization national in its scope and universal in its aim. If 
the man's replies were of the kind expected, and if he was deemed worthy of 
affiliation in the Order, he would be proposed at a subsequent meeting. A 
committee would then be appointed to investigate his character, habits, and 




JOHN p. McGAUGHEY, 
Secretary Co-operative Board. 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 419 

his record as a union man. If a satisfactory report were made he was elected 
and initiated. He had to take a solemn oath not to mention the name of the 
organization, the name of any member, nor the time, place, or object of 
a meeting; nor the business done or proposed; nor its signs, grips, or pass- 
words. In a word, he was bound to keep all knowledge of the Order from 
the outer world, under the penalty of expulsion and social ostracism, " due to 
perjury and violated honor." Mr. Stephens always insisted upon this policy. 
The saddest day of his life was January i, 1882, when the Order was made 
public by an official proclamation. He wept, and said publicity would shatter 
the organization within ten years. A Knight tried to argue with him, but he 
would not listen. He said : " Brother, it is useless to talk. An organization 
which abolishes one of its fundamental principles cannot live and prosper ; but 
I have hopes that my brethren will see their mistake and return to the old 
methods." 

Mr. Stephens was elected Master Workman of the pioneer branch, which 
is still in existence in Philadelphia. The members went to work with the zeal 
of apostles, and spent nights and days in building up the Order. For a con- 
siderable period no one but clothing-cutters and tailors were admitted. Mr. 
Stephens' idea was that it was better to spend a year in building up one solid 
branch than to form six weak ones in half the time. Shortly after the Order 
was formed, a convention was held in Philadelphia, under the auspices of the 
National Labor Union. Over 500 delegates, from all parts of the country, 
attended. Among them were Capt. Richard F. Trevellick, of Detroit, now a 
foremost Knight of Labor; Robert Blissert and William Jessup, of New York; 
Gen. A. M. West, of Mississippi. A few of the then unknown Knights mixed 
among the delegates, and went as far as they dared in advancing the claims of 
their organization. Out of the 500 who attended the convention, probably a 
half-dozen were initiated as Knights. Robert Blissert joined the Order at Mr. 
Stephens' solicitation. He returned to New York, but he concluded that the 
time was not yet ripe for starting the Order in the great metropolis. 

A year from the time the Order started, there were about four branches of 
it in Philadelphia. The Order was then introduced into Camden, N. J., and it 
crept along to Glassboro, N. J., and spread throughout a considerable portion 
of South New Jersey, principally among the glass-workers. 

In 1873, Fred, Turner, now General Secretary-Treasurer, then a gold- 
beater, was taken in as member. He saw at once the advantages his craft 
would obtain from connection with it, and he accordingly helped to organize 
Goldbeaters' Local Assembly, No. 20, of Philadelphia. Later on, in the same 
year, he went to New York City, and founded Goldbeaters' Assembly, No. 28, 
which did not live long. The members of it were hounded and victimized by 
employers, who seemed to divine the existence of the invisible organiza- 
tion. 

Up to July 15, 1873, the name and even the existence of the Knights of 
Labor were well-kept secrets. On that day their Declaration of Principles was 
given to* the press, which gladly published it. The public were mystified as 



420 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

to the source from which the document emanated, but no hght was thrown 
upon the subject. Whisperings of conspiracies, dark-lantern societies, com- 
munism, etc., then became the fashion. The document awakened the interest 
of the workingmen in Pennsylvania, and the Order took an upward bound. 
The necessity of a governing body then became manifest, and accordingly a 
mass convention of the local Assembhes in and around Philadelphia was called. 
The body decided to form District Assemblies. On Thanksgiving Day, 
November, 1873, District No. i was formed, (so says Secretary Turner's 
records). Shortly afterward, District No. 2 was organized in the Glassboro, 
N. J., region. This latter body began a bitter and successful fight against the 
''shin-plaster" and " store-order" system which then prevailed in the factories 
and mills within its jurisdiction. One of its leaders was Thomas M. Ferrell, a 
glass-worker, whose activity brought down upon him the vengeance of several 
grinding corporations. His colleagues sent him afterward to the New Jersey 
Assembly, then to the State Senate, and, finally, to Congress. 

The Order spread along the lines of the trunk roads of Pennsylvania, reach- 
ing Scranton in 1874, and Pittsburg about the same time. It was in Pittsburg 
that the organization found its strongest foothold, and its growth there was 
simply marvellous. District No. 3 was then formed, with a wide jurisdiction. 
So far as can be learned, it was the first district which became powerful enough 
to pay a salary to its Master Workman, and to keep him in the field. It spread 
through the coal regions, and then embraced thousands of railroad employes 
on the Philadelphia and Reading Road. Reading, Pennsylvania, became 
another stronghold, and the capital of District No. 4. Organizers went through 
the State, building up Assemblies wherever possible and advisable. In the 
meantime the Order had become a power in Philadelphia. Its existence had 
become partly known, but no one knew where it met, when it met, or who were 
members of it. No meetings were ever advertised. A simple chalk-mark 
would be made on the side-walks of certain ^orners of certain streets in the 
morning. No one but Knights of Labor knew what it meant, but the result 
would be the presence of from 5,000 to 10,000 workingmen at a labor rally in 
the evening. If any documents were issued, the name Knights of Labor was 
not mentioned. Five stars (*****) would take the place of the title. Every 
Knight knew what it meant. Originally eight stars were used, thus 
****** ^f *^ signifying the " Noble and Holy Order of Knights of Labor." 
Philadelphia preachers began to denounce the unknown organization, politi- 
cians speculated on its power, and certain papers said that it should be 
stamped out by conspiracy laws, but the Order grew and prospered. 

Although it was an absolutely non-political organization, the leaders con- 
cluded that while they would not dabble in politics, yet they were determined 
that objectionable men should no longer fill seats in municipal. State, or 
national councils. In 1875 a number of objectionable candidates for munic- 
ipal ofifices, who had been nominated by the dominant parties, were fairly 
slaughtered at the polls. Although not instructed to do so, the Knights of 
Philadelphia voted as one man against them. " Why ? " was asked. " Because 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR/ 421 

the candidates were enemies of the working element," was the response of one 
of Philadelphia's gifted journalists in an editorial. 

About this time the " Molly Maguire " matter was uppermost in the public 
mind. The enemies of the Order now saw a chance to strike at it. They 
linked the unknown Order with all the crimes charged against the " Molly 
Maguires," and charged it with being the moving spirit in the alleged con- 
spiracy. By Jan. i, 1877, the Order had branches in Pennsylvania, Missouri, 
Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, in Elmira, N. Y., and three branches in New 
York City. There were about 400 locals in all then in existence. The Green- 
back-Labor Party was looming up just then. Many of the Knights of Labor 
joined it. They supposed that it had come to stay, and many of them con- 
cluded that they had better jump into and control it, with the idea that if it 
became a power, they could force it to make their principles the organic laws 
of the land. Uriah S. Stephens became an ardent member of the party, but 
neither he nor his companions ever attempted to lead the Order into it, as has 
been charged. Their idea was not to form political parties, but to control 
those which existed. 

The year 1877 was a turning-point in the history of the Order. In some 
localities it had grown strong enough to come out publicly. There were prob- 
ably 10,000 members of the Order in Pennsylvania alone. The great railroad 
strikes came on during the summer of that year. Many Knights of Labor 
took part in them, and were it not for the influence which they exercised over 
non-members who struck, disasters and scenes too frightful to think of would 
have marked that historic event. Many Knights were members of the militia 
regiments which were called out to quell the trouble, and thanks to their cool- 
ness, as well as to their inside knowledge of affairs, that Pittsburg did not 
become a vast slaughter-house. 

The outcome of the strike was that over 2,000 Knights of Labor had to 
leave Pennsylvania. They scattered all over the West. Although not com- 
missioned to do so, they began the work of forming branches of the Knights 
of Labor wherever they went. The organization had no legally constituted 
head as yet, but District No. i, of Philadelphia, was regarded as the source of 
authority. The need of a central controlling body was keenly felt. After 
considerable correspondence between Mr. Stephens, T. V. Powderly, Chas. H. 
Litchman, and other zealous members, it was decided to call a general conven- 
tion. So far as was known, at the time of this contemplated step the Order 
had obtained a foothold in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Indiana, West Virginia, Missouri, Massachusetts. Colorado, and Illinois. 
There were 500 local Assemblies, which were governed by 1 5 district Assem- 
blies. Frederick Turner, of District No. i, issued a call for the convention. 

MEETING OF THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT READING, PA. 

On New- Year's Day, Tuesday, January i, 1878, the pioneer delegates to 
the first General Assembly met at 508 Penn Street, Reading, Pa. Among 
them were T. V. Powderly, Uriah S. Stephens ; Charles H. Litchman, of 



422 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

Marblehead, Mass. ; Ralph Beaumont, "the eloquent shoemaker," of Elmira > 
John B. Chisholm, of Carbondale, Pa. ; Robert Schilling, then of Akron, Ohio, 
now of Milwaukee. There were 32 delegates in all, representing 15 branches 
of industry and the States of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia^ 
Massachusetts, and Missouri. There was i clothing cutter, 4 shoemakers^ 
I school teacher, 9 coal miners, i moulder, i engineer, 2 locomotive engineers^ 
4 machinists (of whom Mr. Powderly was one), i printer, 3 glass-workers^ 
I carpenter, i cooper, i nail packer, i steam-boiler maker, and 1 blacksmith. 
Fred. Turner, a goldbeater, now General Secretary-Treasurer, was present, but 
not as a delegate. Never before, and hardly ever since then, has a more 
determined, energetic, or brilliant body of workingmen assembled. Many of 
them have since gained national reputations, and among the wage-earners of 
the world they are looked upon in the same light that true Americans look 
upon the signers of the Declaration of Independence. New York had 5 dele- 
gates, one of them a resident of Brooklyn; Pennsylvania haci 19; Massa- 
chusetts, I ; Missouri, i ; Ohio, 4; and West Virginia, 2. 

As it will be observed, Pennsylvania had the lion's share of the delegates, 
but this is explainable from the fact that that State was the birthplace of the 
Knights of Labor. All these men were thoroughly alive to the importance of 
the work assigned them. The Convention was called to order by Delegate 
Thomas King, of Pennsylvania, and Uriah S. Stephens was unanimously 
chosen to preside, with Charles H. Litchman, of Marblehead, Mass., as secre- 
tary. The sessions lasted for four days. 

The great governing body of the Order was formed during these four 
days, and the men who sat in that General Assembly started the machinery 
which has since brought into existence nearly 8,ocx) branches of the giant 
Order. The Resistance Fund was proposed and adopted. The provisions 
concerning it were that 5 cents of the monthly dues of each member of 
each local Assembly should be set aside in care of each local Treasurer. 
This is the fund which was afterward reserved for the support of men on 
strike, and 8,000 local Assemblies now have a similar fund to draw upon in 
cases of necessity. 

Another important matter was discussed. Some delegates were anxious 
to have the name and existence of the Order made public. There was strong 
opposition to the idea, however. Finally, to test the matter, Charles H. 
Litchman, of Massachusetts, proposed that the Order should be made public. 
Only 5 delegates voted in favor of the motion, while Messrs. Powderly, Beau- 
mont, and Litchman, with 19 of their colleagues, voted against it. Uriah S. 
Stephens, who had gone back to Philadelphia on the previous day, would 
have voted against publicity had he been present. 

It may be well to explain this vote. At that time labor organizations were 
comparatively few and weak. The country was then recovering from the 
paralyzing effects of the panic, and work was not easily obtained. Trades 
unions were unpopular, and thousands of Knights of Labor feared that if the 
Order was made public, their connection with it would be discovered, and 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 423 

lliey would be black-listed by their employers. And it may be said that 
their fears were well founded, because thousands of Knights have been sent 
on tramp because they were Knights. Other considerations prompted the 
opposition to publicity. The members were afraid that politicians would try 
to capture the organization. Again, Mr. Stephens believed that secrecy 
would make the Order invincible. 

The great work of the General Assembly was the formulation of the 
Declaration of Principles. The best minds of that body were taxed in 
building the document which is the chart and guide for the toilers who were 
then and who have since become Knights of Labor. The platform adopted 
was rather brief. Since then additions have been made to it. For con- 
venience sake, the platform as it now stands, which includes all of the 
original one and the amendments thereto, is given below : 

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES. 

The alarming development and aggressiveness of great capitalists and 
corporations, unless checked, will inevitably lead to the pauperization and 
hopeless degradation of the toiling masses. 

It is imperative, if we desire to enjoy the full blessings of life, that a check 
be placed upon unjust accumulation and the power for evil of aggregated 
wealth. 

This much-desired object can be accomplished only by the united efforts of 
those who obey the Divine injunction, " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou 
eat bread." 

Therefore we have formed the Order of Knights of Labor, for the purpose 
of organizing and directing the power of the industrial masses, not as a political 
party, for it is more — in it are crystallized sentiments and measures for the 
whole people — but it should be borne in min.d, when exercising the right of 
suffrage, that most of the objects herein set forth can only be obtained through 
legislation, and that it is the duty of all to assist in nominating and supporting 
with their votes only such candidates as will pledge their support to those 
measures, regardless of party. But no one shall, however, be compelled to 
vote with the majority, and calling upon all who believe in securing " the 
greatest good to the greatest number" to join and assist us, we declare to 
the world that our aims are : 

1. To make industrial and moral worth, not wealth, the true standard of 
individual and national greatness. 

2. To secure to the workers the full enjoyment of the wealth they create; 
sufficient leisure in which to develop their intellectual, moral, and social 
faculties ; all of the benefits, recreation, and pleasures of association ; in a 
word, to enable them to share in the gains and honors of advancing civilization. 

In order to secure these results, we demand at the hands of the State : 

3. The establishment of bureaus of labor statistics, that we may arrive at a 
correct knowledge of the educational, moral, and financial condition of the 
laboring masses. 



424 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

4. That the pubh'c lands, the heritage of the people, be reserved for actual 
settlers; not another acre for railroads or speculators, and that all lands now 
held for speculative purposes be taxed to their full value. 

5. The abrogation of all laws that do not bear equally upon capital and 
labor, and the removal of unjust technicalities, delays, and discriminations in 
the administration of justice. 

6. The adoption of measures providing for the health and safety of those 
engaged in mining, manufacturing, and building industries, and for the indem- 
nification to those engaged therein for injuries received through lack of neces- 
sary safeguards. 

7. The recognition by incorporation of trades unions and orders, and such 
other associations as may be organized by the working masses to improve 
their condition and protect their rights. 

8. The enactment of laws to compel corporations to pay their employes 
weekly, in lawful money, for the labor of the preceding week, and giving 
mechanics and laborers a first lien upon the product of their labor to the 
extent of their full wages. 

9. The abolition of the contract system on national. State, and municipal 
works. 

10. The enactment of laws providing for arbitration between employer and 
employed, and to enforce the decision of the arbitrators. 

11. The prohibition by law of the employment of children under 15 years 
of age in workshops, mines, and factories. 

12. To prohibit the hiring out of convict labor. 

13. That a graduated income tax be levied. 
And we demand at the hands of Congress : 

1. The establishment of a national monetary system, in which a circulating 
medium in necessary quantity shall issue direct to the people, without the 
intervention of banks; that all the national issue shall be full legal tender in 
payment of all debts, public and private ; and that the Government shall not 
guarantee or recognize any private banks, or create any banking corpora- 
tions. 

2. That interest-bearing bonds, bills of credit, or notes shall never be issued 
by the Government, but that, when need arises, the emergency shall be met 
by issue of legal tender, non-interest-bearing money. 

3. That the importation of foreign labor under contract be prohibited. 

4. That, in connection with the post-office, the Government shall organize 
financial exchanges, safe deposits, and facilities for deposit of the savings of 
the people in small sums. 

5. That the Government shall obtain possession by purchase, under the 
right of eminent domain, of all telegraphs, telephones, and railroads, and that 
hereafter no charter or license be issued to any corporation for construction or 
operation of any means of transporting intelligence, passengers, or freight. 

And while making the foregoing demands upon the State and National 
Government, we will endeavor to associate our own labors: 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 



425 



1. To establish co-operative institutions such as will supersede the wage 
system, by the introduction of a co-operative industrial system. 

2. To secure for both sexes equal pay for equal work. 

3. To shorten the hours of labor by a general refusal to work more than 
eight hours. 

4. To persuade employers to agree to arbitrate all differences which may 
arise between them and their employes, in order that the bonds of sympathy 
between them may be strengthened and that strikes may be rendered un- 
necessary. 

The General Assembly closed its work on Friday, Jan. 4, 1878, by electing 
these Grand Ofificers* : Grand Master Workman, Uriah S. Stephens, a garment- 
cutter, of Philadelphia, Penn. ; Grand Worthy. Foreman, Ralph Beaumont, 
shoemaker, of Elmira, N. Y. ; Grand Secretary, Charles H. Litchman, shoe- 
maker, of MarbJehead, Mass. ; Grand Assistant-Secretary, John G. Laning, 
nail-packer, Clifton, W. Va. ; Grand Treasurer, Thomas M. Gallagher, machin- 
ist, of St. Louis, Mo. The Executive Board was then selected, and was com- 
posed of these members : Thomas P. Crowne, shoemaker, New York, Chair- 
man ; James A. Hamilton, printer, Leetonia, Ohio, Secretary ; John A. Gibson, 
miner, Knightsville, Indiana ; Robert A. Steen, glassworker, Pittsburgh, Penn. ; 
and William L. Van Horn, teacher, of Lewiston, W. Va. These ofiFicers, ex- 
cepting Mr. Stephens, were formally installed, and into their hands was placed 
the care of the organization, which was destined to become a power throughout 
the world. Messrs. Litchman and Crowne were afterward deputed to go to 
Philadelphia, and install Uriah S. Stephens into the greatest office within the 
gift of the Order he brought into existence. 

The delegates parted full of zeal and enthusiasm, and resumed the work of 
organization. It began to be noised everywhere that a secret labor organiza- 
tion was spreading its network all over the country. Newspapers began to 
attack it fiercely, denouncing the members as conspirators and assassins ; 
clergymen inveighed against it as a league with Satan ; and employers began 
to discharge every man whom they supposed were members of it. Some of 
the members became panic-stricken, and Grand Master Workman Stephens was 
^aily in the receipt of letters from members, who pressed him as to the advisa- 
bility of making the Order public. Mr. Stephens, after consultation with lead- 
ing members, concluded that something had to be done, and accordingly the 
following call for a special session was issued on May 16, 1878: 

"N. AND H. O. 

w w ^ ^ -^ 

" Special Call, 
" On account of what is believed by many of our most influential members 
to be an emergency of vast and vital importance to the stability, usefulness, 

*The title " Grand Officers " was changed to "General Officers," at the request of 
Local Assembly, No. 1825, of Williamsburg, N. Y., by the General Assembly which met 
at Cincinnati in Sept., 1883. The reason assigned for the change was that the title 
"grand " was undemocratic. 



426 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

and influence of our Order, and in accordance with the power given me by the 
Constitution, I do hereby call a special session of the General Assembly of the 
N. and H. O. of K. of L., of North America, to be held Thursday, June 6, 
1878, in the hall of District No. i, at Sixth and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia, 
Penn. * * * * The business is to consider the expediency of ;;m/^z';/^/'/^r C^/-^,??- 
public, for the purpose of defending it against the fierce assaults and defama- 
tion made upon it by press, clergy, and corporate capital, and to take such 
further action as shall efTectually meet the grave emergency. 

" Uriah S. Stephens, G. M. W. 
"Chas. H. Litchman, G. Secretary^ 

Fifteen delegates, representing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Illinois, Massachusetts, and Missouri, responded to the call, and met at the 
time and place named ; Uriah S. Stephens presiding. They immediately began 
to discuss the question at issue. A motion was made authorizing the Grand 
Master Workman and the Grand Secretary to empower District and Local 
Assemblies to make the order public when two-thirds of the members of such 
bodies should declare in favor of such a step. 

Secrecy being a fundamental rule of the Order, it required a two-thirds 
vote to pass such a resolution. The resolution was killed, nine votes (less than 
two-thirds) being cast in favor of it, and six against it. Finally, on the motion 
of T. V. Powderly, of Scranton, it was decided to refer the following matters 
to the consideration of the District and Local Assemblies for approval : the 
advisability of making the Order public, and of making such changes in the 
ceremonials as would tend to remove the opposition of the churches. And at 
the suggestion of Mr, Litchman, it was decided to order each Assembly to 
vote on these questions not later than Dec. i, 1878. The Assembly was then 
closed. 

The formation of the General Assembly imposed new duties on the Order 
all around. The Grand Officers had to begin to pick up the scattered threads 
which seemed to exist all over the country. The work was slow, but steady. 
Beginning on the 9th of April, 1878, Grand Master Workman Stephens began 
to appoint organizers on the recommendation of the various District and 
local Assemblies. Seventy-four were appointed during that year, and tl\e 
Order was constitutionally established in Kansas, Minnesota, Kentucky, 
Michigan, Maryland, Colorado, Iowa, and Alabama. Weak, isolated, "char- 
terless " branches were already in existence in a few of these States. An 
organizer was sent to Florida. The Order was getting in smooth running 
order. During that year the various local Assemblies voted on the advisability 
of making the Order public. The returns were very meagre, but, such as 
they were, they showed that the majority of the Assemblies were against 
publicity. 

When the second session of the General Assembly was called in Nie's Hall, 
St. Louis, Mo., on January 14, 1879, 97^ ^ocal Assemblies had been heard 
from. The increase for the year had been 471. There were only 25 delegates 
present, but they represented a wider area of the country than those who 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 427 

attended the first General Assembly. Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas, Kentucky, 
and Alabama had representatives at the second session. Uriah Stephens 
presided. In his formal address he said: "Your presence here gives us light 
and hope. It means a waking up to the historical facts, that great wealth 
means certain corruption at the fountain of law; that limited intelligence is 
suborned to villainy ; and the best genius of our time is perverted to the base 
uses of unprincipled and yet, after all, bankrupt greed. Coming as you do 
from all parts of this continent, shows the magnitude of the awakening. It 
foretells the blessing of Heaven upon those who will help themselves. Wel- 
come to this General Assembly, than which in its bearing upon the destiny 
of the race a more important assemblage of representative men never before 
met upon the globe." 

Three very important matters were discussed by the delegates. First, the 
feasibility of a life insurance department ; second, the formation of State 
Assemblies; and, third, the wisdom of taking political action. (At the pre- 
vious election 15 men representing the principles held by the Knights of 
Labor had been elected to Congress.) The delegates killed the State Assem- 
bly plan ; they feared that it would eventually tend to make a political machine 
out of the Order. By an almost unanimous vote, Assemblies were authorized 
to take political action if two-thirds of their membership favored the idea. The 
insurance plan met with general favor, but nothing de^nite was done about it. 

Several of the delegates seemed determined to force the matter of making 
the Order public. A delegate from Ohio made a motion to that effect. A 
prolonged debate followed. Finally, T. V. Powderly pointed a way out of 
the difficulty, and at his suggestion the General Assembly authorized any local 
or District Assembly to make itself known, provided two-thirds of the mem- 
bers should so decide. The Assembly finished the work by re-electing Grand 
Master Workman Stephens ; T. V. Powderly, of Scranton, was chosen Grand 
Worthy Foreman ; Charles H. Litchman, Grand Secretary ; W, H. Singer, 
Grand Treasurer. The members elected to the Executive Board were : John 
McCaffrey, Pennsylvania ; E. S. Marshall, Alabama ; Thomas Kavanaugh, 
Illinois; James H. Coon, Iowa; Newell Daniels, Wisconsin. 

Nothing of public importance was done in the eight months which passed 
before the third session of the General Assembly met in Chicago, on Septem- 
ber 2, 1879. Twenty delegates, representing ten States, took part in the 
deliberations. Much to their regret, Mr. Stephens was not present. Why he 
was not there was explained by the following letter : 

Office of the Grand Master Workman, i 
Philadelphia, Pa., August 30, 1879. \ 
Charles Litchman, Esq., Grand Secretary. 

My Dear Brother : Business and finance together render it impossible for me to be 
at Chicago. I do not feel that I can any longer bear the burden. It must rest on other 
shoulders. My preference [for successor] lies between Powderly and Richard Griffiths. I 
have transmitted my address and report, also my decisions and statement of accounts, to 
Brother Griffiths, to hand to you. I must devote my energies to personal aflfairs that have 



428 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

been so much neglected the last two years, while giving brain and energy to the interests 
of others. I sincerely hope for wise legislation, and that humanity may be benefited 
thereby. Yours fraternally, 

U. S. Stephens, Grand Master Workman. 

In the absence of Mr. Stephens, the duty of presiding devolved upon 
Grand Worthy Foreman Powderly, one of the 20 delegates who were present. 
A considerable portion of the five days' session was taken up in discussing the 
testy question as to whether the time had not come for making the aims and 
name of the Order known to the world. The delegates thought the time was 
yet inopportune, and they settled the question in the way it was disposed of 
at the second session, viz. : the Assemblies were empowered to make the 
Order public in their own localities if deemed advisable. Up to this time 
women were barred out from membership. Delegate Philip Van Patten, of 
Ohio, thought the barrier should be removed, and, with that end in view, he 
offered an amendment to the Constitution, providing that workingwomen 
should be admitted to the Order. Twelve votes were cast in favor and 8 
against it. Lacking a two-thirds majority, the question was referred back to 
the Order at large for approval. The General Assembly also endorsed the 
stand previously taken in favor of allowing Assemblies to take political action 
whenever the interests of the Order would be served thereby. 

Two other important measures were brought up, disposed of, and adopted 
as a part of the organic law of the Order. The want of an official organ was 
keenly felt, and by a unanimous vote the Grand Officers were authorized to 
issue a monthly organ, to be circulated only among members of the organiza- 
tion. The paper was issued on the 15th of May, 1880. It now has a large 
circulation, and it has been a means of welding the Brotherhood together and 
of establishing a unity of sentiment among the members. The other measure 
was the establishing of a black-list. The black-list is a mode of punishing 
trpitors. It was ordered that as soon as a traitor was expelled that his name, 
age, occupation, personal appearance, and his offence should be published in 
the journal and sent broadcast, indorsed by the local or district which ex- 
pelled him. 

The report of Grand Secretary Charles H. Litchman showed that the 
Order had made encouraging gains ; that 41 organizers had been commissioned, 
not only in the States already organized, but in Texas, California, Iowa, North 
Carolina, and Massachusetts. It was shown, too, that 1,325 locals were work- 
ing, making an increase of 354 in 8 months. 

Other reports showed that a number of the locals then recently organized 
were composed of men engaged at special branches of industry. A resolution 
was adopted, declaring that trade locals were contrary to the spirit and genius 
of the Order, and all locals were recommended to initiate men of all trades 
and callings. The session was ended by the election of Terrence V. Powderly, 
of Pennsylvania, as Grand Master Workman ; Richard Griffiths, of Illinois, 
Grand Worthy Foreman ; Charles H. Litchman, of Massachusetts, Grand 
Secretary (re-elected) ; Dominick Hammer, of Ohio, Grand Treasurer. To the 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 429 

Executive Board : Edward A. Stevens, of Illinois ; Philip Van Patten, of Ohio ; 
Michael A. Leary and David Fitzgerald, of Pennsylvania ; and Cornelius Cur- 
tin, of Illinois. 

The work of organization went on quietly during the winter and spring 
which followed. New York was as yet unorganized. While the leaders were 
anxious that the Order should gain a foothold in the Empire State, they had 
misgivings as to its probable success. In the early days of the Order three 
Assemblies had been formed in New York City, one of goldbeaters. No. 28 ; 
one of boxmakers. No. 159; and one of shoemakers, No. 221 ; but they had 
withered and died. An organizer settled in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1879, ^^'^^ 
after 13 months' hard work he established Advance Assembly No. 1562 
(mixed), with 14 members. Most of them were staunch and zealous men. 
Assisted by them, he started Local Assembly No. 1563 in New York City, 
and Progressive Assembly No. 1570 in Greenpoint, N. Y. No. 1562 infused a 
spirit into the Order at large, which took the upward bound which landed it 
in the high position it now occupies. 

In its onv\'ard march the Order gained firm footholds in Alabama, 
Colorado, California, Mar>^land, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, and Kansas. 
Branches were started at Savannah, McAllister in the Indian Territory, and at 
Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory', bringing the total number of Assemblies up 
to 1,580, with 42 districts, on September i, 1880. The fourth regular session 
of the Knights of Labor was held at Grand Armory Hall, on September 2, 3, 
4, 5, and 6, in Pitttsburgh. Among the 40 delegates were representatives 
from California, Michigan, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, States that never before 
had been represented in the General Assembly. This, and the fact that 1,580 
locals were in existence, proved very encouraging to the young Master Work- 
man, Mayor T. V. Powderly, of Scranton, who made his maiden address as 
chief of the Order of the Knights of Labor. In the course of it, he said in 
reference to strikes : " We must teach our members that the remedy for the 
redress of the wrongs we complain of does not lie in t/ie suicidal strike — it 
lies in thorough effective organization. Without organization we cannot ac- 
complish anything ; through it we hope to banish forever the curse of modern 
civilization — wage slavery." 

The question of strikes had for years engaged the attention of the Order. 
The general policy of it was against strikes, but it was considered that a plan 
for dealing with them was necessary. A special committee was appointed by 
the General Assembly, and it presented this report, which was adopted : 

" It is the opinion of the Order that strikes are, as a rule, productive of more injury 
than benefit to the working people ; consequently, all attempts to foment strikes should 
be discouraged. But, should circumstances compel our brothers in any locality to strike, 
the local Assembly to which they belong shall elect an Arbitration Committee, which shall 
try to settle the difficulty. Should this Committee fail to arrange matters satisfactorily, 
the District Assembly shall elect an Arbitration Committee, which shall renew the effort 
to settle the difficulty." 

It was further provided that should the District fail, a committee selected 



430 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

from three Districts should try to settle the difficulty. And, if that body 
failed, the matter was to be referred to the General Executive Board. 

The Executive Board and the Grand Officers were empowered to order a 
strike if deemed justifiable, to support the strikers from the strike fund, and to 
levy a general assessment on the whole Order in support of the strike. 

The question of admitting women to the Order came up again, and a dele- 
gate offered this resolution : 

" That workingwomen may become members of the Order, and form Assemblies under 
the same conditions as men." 

This met with almost unanimous approval, and the General Assembly 
declared that woman was the equal of man. The Grand Officers were author- 
ized to put the motion into effect at once. An effort was made to remove the 
ban on physicians. A motion declaring them eligible was defeated by a vote 
of 38 to 2. A lengthy debate followed a motion pledging the Order to sup- 
port the Greenback-Labor Party. The motion was tabled indefinitely. 

The Resistance Fund, established at the first General Assembly, had grown 
to considerable proportions, and there was considerable doubt as to how it 
should be used. Hours were taken up in considering and debating the ques- 
tion. It was finally decided that 10 per cent, of the fund should be laid aside 
for educational purposes, 30 per cent, to be set aside as a Strike Fund, and the 
remaining 60 per cent, was ordered to be set aside and used in starting co- 
operative factories, mills, and stores. The position of the Order on the 
Chinese question was defined by the adoption of the following resolution : 

" Resolved, That all members of the Order oppose Chinese coolie importation of what- 
ever form, and it shall be their duty to withdraw all patronage from said class and the 
employers of them. It shall be the duty of all brothers to exact a pledge from their repre- 
sentatives in Congress that they will do all that lies within their power to secure the abro- 
gation of the Burlingame treaty." 

The old Board of Grand Officers were re-elected, and the following delegates 
became members of the Executive Board : 

James L. Wright and Frederick Turner, of Pennsylvania ; Daniel Mc- 
Laughlin, of Illinois; Henry G. Taylor, New York; and Robert W. Price, 
Maryland. 

In December, 1880, several members of the Order were arrested during a 
labor-strike in Pennsylvania, and charged with being members of the Knights 
of Labor, " an organization which encourages crime, theft, arson, etc." A 
special meeting of the Executive Board was held in Philadelphia on Jan. 9, 
1 88 1, to consider their case. Their liberty was at stake, and the reputation of 
the Order was in danger. Grand Master Workman Powderly and James L. 
Wright, Chairman of the Executive Board, were authorized to attend the trial 
as witnesses on behalf of the accused Knights. They did so, with the result 
that the unfounded charges of conspiracy fell to the ground. 

For some unknown reason the organization did not spread very rapidly 
during the year beginning Sept. i, 1881. Only loi local Assemblies and one 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 43i 

District Assembly were organized, but the States of Tennessee and Minnesota 
and the District of Columbia were added to the roll, bringing the total number 
of locals up to 1, 68 1. The fifth session of the General Assembly was held in 
Ney Hall, Detroit, Mich., on Sept. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, 1881 ; Grand Master 
Workman Powderly presiding. Thirty-three delegates were present, one of 
them representing Kansas. Brooklyn, N. Y., had a delegate for the first time, 
and New York City had two delegates. The question of making the Order 
public came up again, and no less than four resolutions were offered by dele- 
gates from different parts of the country in favor of the scheme. Thomas M. 
Ferrell, afterward a Congressman from New Jersey, submitted the following 
resolution, which, after a prolonged discussion, was adopted : 

" Whereas, Believing that it will be in accord with the great work we are engaged in, 
and to aid more fully in educating the public to a favorable opinion in the interest of the 
working unions of this country ; therefore, be it 

" Resolved, That the name of the Order be declared by the General Assembly to be no 
longer a secret, leaving it optional with the District Assemblies and locals In connection 
with the G. M. W. when to so proclaim it in their respective jurisdictions." 

Nearly every delegate spoke on this subject, and the minority, led by 
Theo. F. Cuno, of Brooklyn, N. Y., made a strong fight against the motion. 
Their opposition proved futile, and the motion was adopted by a vote of 28 to 
6. James L. Wright, one of the founders of the Order ; Cuno, and the dele- 
gates representing Detroit, Newark, N. J., Baltimore, and H. G. Taylor, of 
New York, voted to the last against publicity. Accordingly a committee of 
three was authorized to draft " a proclamation to the workingmen of the United 
States, informing them of the existence and objects of the Noble and Holy 
Order of the Knights of Labor." 

A strong effort was made to establish State Assemblies. Some delegates 
beHeved them to be a necessary addition to the Order. Others insisted that 
they should supplant District Assemblies. The General Assembly decided 
that State organizations were desirable, but impracticable then. It also refused 
to admit physicians to membership. The delegate from Newark submitted a 
plan for the appointment of a board, which was to have charge of and to direct 
all co-operative schemes started by the Order. The idea was approved of, but 
the delegates thought it deserved long and serious consideration. Therefore, 
the whole matter was referred to the Advance Labor Assembly, No. 1562, of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., many of whose members were recognized authorities on the 
subject of productive and distributive co-operation. Recognizing the neces- 
sity of a bureau of general information for the Order, a new official was created, 
with the title of " Grand Statistician," whose duties were implied by the title. 
The General Assembly made another important innovation by establishing a 
system of life insurance for members. There had been a general demand for 
an insurance department. The new feature met with universal approval, and 
it has grown to be quite an iristitution. One of the closing acts of the General 
Assembly was the authorization of another innovation, viz., permitting mem- 
bers to wear symbolical badges. 



432 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

These were the officers chosen : Grand Master Workman, T. V. Powderly ; 
Grand Worthy Foreman, Richard Griffiths, Illinois ; Grand Secretary, Robert 
D. Layton, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; Grand Treasurer, A. M. Owens^ 
Clarksburgh, W. Va. ; Grand Statistician, Theodore F. Cuno, Brooklyn, N. Y, 
Executive Board : Messrs. Powderly and Layton ; James Campbell and Myles 
McPadden, of Pennsylvania; and Archibald Cowan, of Ohio. The peculiar 
coniposition of the board was the result of a plan to make Pittsburgh the per- 
manent headquarters of the Knights of Labor. The laws of the Order provide 
that the home of the General Secretary shall be the headquarters of the Knights 
of Labor. From Jan., 1878, to this time Marblehead, Mass., the home of Sec- 
retary Litchman, had been the headquarters. After Secretary Layton had 
been elected it was decided to make him and Grand Master Workman Powder- 
ly the first two members of the board, and that the other three members should 
be selected from Pittsburgh and vicinity. That system has since been changed, 
so that the Executive Board is now made up of men from different States. 

The year 1882 was a rather eventful one for the Order. On New-Year's 
day the Grand Officers issued a proclamation informing the world of the ex- 
istence of the Knights of Labor, and of their aims and principles. The press 
throughout the country gave the subject considerable attention, and rather 
welcomed the Order than otherwise. The proclamation came upon the trades 
unionists of America like a revelation, and thousands of them poured into the 
Order. By Sept. i, 1882, the Order had gained 22,517 members. In many 
localities the Order came out publicly, making known the names of officers, 
and giving the time and place of meetings. Many Assemblies continued to 
work secretly as before. In New York City there are over 300 locals and seven 
District Assemblies, but their existence is practically a profound secret. 

The strength, extent, or influence of the Order had not been tested up to 
1882. Mostly all of its actions had been local in their extent and bearing. 
Boycotting was yet an unknown factor in the settlement of labor difficulties. 
On the morning of March 25, 1882, a universal boycotting order was issued 
and published by Advance Assembly, No. 1562, of Brooklyn, N. Y., against a 
prominent New York corporation, which was accused of general unjust treat- 
ment of its employes. The order for the boycott was the outcome of an in- 
vestigation made by a committee consisting of three members of No. 1562. 
The boycott order was flashed all over the land ; it met with a general 
response, and it caused the corporation a direct loss in solid cash of $250,000 
in one year. The boycotting idea met with general favor throughout the 
Order, and it became and is to-day a part of its policy. (The subject is dealt 
with more fully further on.) The boycott created great excitement at the 
time. The corporation hired detectives, who tried inefTectually to worm them- 
selves into the Order. A treacherous Knight, yet unknown, revealed the cir- 
cumstances of the boycott, and the corporation threatened to have Cuno and 
the investigation committee indicted. In anticipation of such a contingency, 
bondsmen were secured, and Robert Blissert, of New York, quietly arranged 
for a monster indignation meeting, to be held in Union Square the very night 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 433 

that the members of No. 1562 should be arrested. The workingmen of New- 
York were in a state of intense excitement at the time, and had the arrests 
been made trouble would have followed beyond a doubt. The Grand Officers 
afterward raised the boycott, and the corporation not only remedied the 
grievances complained of, but it helped its employes to form an Assembly of 
the Knights of Labor. Since the boycott was raised the corporation has been 
restored to its old prestige, and is doing an immense business. This boycott 
demonstrated the power of the Knights of Labor, and it restored No. 1562, of 
Brooklyn, to its position as the foremost Assembly of the Order. Since No.. 
1562 was formed, three of its members, John G. Caville, Theo. F. Cuno, and 
John S. McClelland, have been honored with national offices. Six of its 
members have been honored with seats in the General Assembly, and probably 
twenty of them have held organizers* commissions. 

During 1882 new locals in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire^ 
Wisconsin, Texas, and Nebraska were heard from. By Sept. 1st, 513 new 
Assemblies had been formed, and 9 new District Assemblies ; 86 locals which 
had lapsed were reorganized. The total number of locals was 2,190, with 49 
Districts, and a membership of 100,000. Two notable events in the history of 
the Order were recorded that year. On the i6th of June, 1882, ten pottery 
firms at East Liverpool, Ohio, combined to crush the local Assembly in that 
place. They began by discharging their 350 employes, who refused to aban- 
don the Order, Right "upon the heels of this" a firm at New Castle, Penn., 
discharged 61 of their employes for the same reason. The struggle in both 
instances was bitter, and the Order granted such aid to the men as its limited 
treasury permitted. During the same year 13 members were arrested for 
assisting General Organizer Myles McPadden to organize the miners and 
laborers of Centre and Clearfield Counties, in Pennsylvania. He also was 
arrested. The Executive Board rendered them all the assistance possible. 
During this year the board had to support the East Liverpool brothers, and to 
contribute nearly $6,000 to the shoemakers who struck at Rochester, N. Y. 
It also had to extend a helping hand to 3,800 miners who struck in the George's 
Creek region, Maryland. 

Fifteen States, including Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin, 
hitherto unheard from, were represented at the sixth session of the General 
Assembly, which met in New York City on Sept. 8, 1882. Seventy-five dele- 
gates attended the session. Several days were devoted to the boycott ques- 
tion, and an effort was made to confine the right of inflicting boycotts to the 
Executive Board, but it was unsuccessful. The unjust system of selecting all 
the members of the Executive Board from Pennsylvania was wiped out. And 
it was provided that no two members of it should come from the same State, 
and that no Grand Officer should be eligible thereto. 

A family affliction called Grand Master Workman Powderly home again 
(as it did four delegates during the session), and Ralph Beaumont took 
the chair. Many things were done during this session, but the principal ones 
were the enactment of a law allowing girls of 16 and over to join the Order; 



434 HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE 

the establishment of a National Co-operative Board ; and the establishment of 
a system of financial aid for men and women who were " locked-out " for being 
members of the Order, The order renewing the movement to bring about 
the early closing of stores, was endorsed by the body. The election of officers 
resulted as follows : Grand Master Workman, T. V. Powderly ; Grand Secre- 
tary, R. D. Layton (both re-elected) ; Grand Worthy Foreman, Ralph Beau- 
mont, of Elmira, N. Y. ; Grand Treasurer, Richard Griffiths, of Illinois ; Grand 
Statistician, Francis B. Egan, Michigan ; Insurance Secretary, Charles H. 
Litchman, Massachusetts. Executive Board : David Healy, New York ; John 
S. McClelland, New Jersey ; James Campbell, Pennsylvania ; R. W. Price, 
Maryland ; H. C. Traphagen, Ohio. 

During 1882 the Order was started in Canada, beginning with Hamilton. 
From September i, 1882, 656 local Assemblies were chartered. A consider- 
able number of them were in Maine, Canada, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. Fifteen District Assemblies were 
founded. Up to the latter date, 26 States, the District of Columbia, the 
Indian and Wyoming Territories, and Canada were under the shield of the 
Knights of Labor. 

During 1883 the resources of the Order were severely taxed in supporting 
strikes and lockouts at East Liverpool, Ohio ; in the Cumberland mining 
region ; Newcastle, Penn. ; Cannelburgh, Ind. ; in Cincinnati ; at AUentown, 
Penn. ; at Rochester, N. Y. The great strike of the Western Union teleg- 
raphers, who formed part of District Assembly No. 45, occurred that year. 
A considerable sum of money was raised for the telegraphers, but the strike 
was a failure. What threatened to be a serious schism occurred in Baltimore 
about that time. A number of Knights of Labor, who did not agree with the 
general policy of the Order, started a society known as the Improved Order 
of the Knights of Labor. The old organization attacked it vigorously, and it 
dwindled away. The seventh session of the General Assembly was held in 
Cincinnati, September 4-1 1, 1883. It was attended by in delegates, repre- 
senting 21 States and 2,714 Assemblies. For the first time a woman was 
present as a delegate. The matters which came up and were approved of by 
the body were few in number. At the request of Local Assembly No. i825> 
of Brooklyn, N. Y., the aristocratic title of " Grand Officers " was wiped out, 
and the title " General Officers " substituted. A clause demanding the com- 
pulsory education of children was added to the platform, and the Assistance 
Fund (designed to help men on strikes which had been duly authorized) was 
re-established. Mr. Powderly was re-elected to his old position of head of the 
Order,. under the new title of General Master Workman, and Fred. Turner, of 
Philadelphia, was elected Secretary. 

Soon after the Assembly adjourned, the headquarters of the Knights of 
Labor was removed from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. 

Two missionaries crossed the Atlantic in the early part of 1884, and organ- 
ized flourishing Assemblies in England and Belgium. One of the Assemblies, 
No. 3504, of Sunderland, England, now has over 2,000 members. During that 



KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 435 

year branches sprang up in Washington Territory, Florida, New Mexico, 
Utah, British Columbia, Idaho, and Montana. It received a great impetus in 
Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Texas, the latter State 
gaining 20,000 members. In all, 561 locals were formed, bringing the total 
number up to 3,270, with 'j^ Districts. In the spring the Executive Board 
received an appeal for aid from Knights of Labor at Cannelburgh, Ind., who 
had been victimized by a mining corporation, with which they had been 
struggling for a year. After due consideration, the Board thought that it 
would be better to start the men in business for the Order on the co-operative 
principle than to support a strike. Accordingly, money was advanced, and a 
valuable tract of coal land was purchased outright at Cannelburgh, and the 
men put to work. The mine is yet the property of the Order. The Board 
also adopted a special label to be placed on all goods made by Knights of 
Labor. The label is granted only to employers who employ Knights 
exclusively. 

The eighth session of the General Assembly was held in Philadelphia* 
Twenty-four States were represented by 127 delegates, two of whom were 
women. An immense amount of business was proposed and transacted, and 
300 different plans, amendments, and ideas on different subjects were sub- 
mitted. The Assembly removed the barrier which kept physicians out of the 
Order. The " Assistance Fund " was placed under the control of the District 
Assemblies, instead of the General Assembly, as had been the case. The 
financial affairs of the organization had grown to such proportions that a new 
ofifice, that of General Auditor, was created, to which Mr. John G. Caville, of 
No. 1562, Brooklyn, was elected. He was re-elected at Hamilton, Canada, in 
1885. Authority to form State Assemblies was given to local Assemblies, and 
since then Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas, and Massachusetts have availed 
themselves of the opportunity. 

The rapid growth of the Order from October, 1885, to March i, 1886, pre- 
vented the ofificers from giving routine matters due attention. Consequently 
the General Executive Board ordered that all organizing should cease for 
forty days ; when the forty days had ended there were i,ooo applications for 
charters on file. 

In April, in response to a call signed by five District Assemblies repre- 
senting five States, General Master Workman Powderly summoned the dele- 
gates to meet in special session at Cleveland, on May 25, 1886. One hundred 
and forty delegates met in Cleveland on that day and continued in session 
until Thursday, June 4. Most of the session was spent in discussions on 
strikes and boycotts. 

The law was changed so as to confine the right to boycott to the General 
Executive Board exclusively. As regards strikes the power to order them 
was taken from local and district assemblies and placed in the hands of the 
Executive — this is in cases where more than twenty-five men or women are 
concerned. It was ordered, too, that the command to strike or to resume work 
should be given secretly. 



436 



TERRENCE VINCENT POWDERLY. 



The commissions of the 600 organizers were cancelled, and provision made 
for the appointment of new ones, who should have to undergo an examina- 
tion as to fitness. Political action received a quasi-endorsement, inasmuch as 
a committee was appointed to secure legislation at the hands of Congress 
favorable to labor interests. Owing to the pressure of business on the Ex- 
ecutive Board, the General Assembly authorized the election of six auxiliary- 
members of the Executive Board. The duty of the auxiliary members was 
confined to examination into the causes of labor difificulties. 



TERRENCE VINCENT POWDERLY, 

GENERAL MASTER WORKMAN OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR OF NORTH AMERICA. 

Mr. Powderly was born January 29, 1849, ^^ Carbondale, Pa. His father 
Was an humble Irish miner, and his mother an industrious. God-fearing woman* 
She was the mother of twelve children, of whom Terrence was the youngest 

except one. He received such education as 
was obtainable where he lived. As soon as 
he was able he secured a situation as a switch- 
tender for the Delaware & Hudson Canal 
Company. He followed that occupation for 
four years, at the end of which time he left to 
become a machinist for the company. 

Mr. Powderly became a resident of Scran- 
ton in 1869, and secured a situation in the 
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Company's 
shop. The following year he joined the 
Machinists' and Blacksmiths' Union. He had 
been studying the labor question for years, 
and his knowledge made him a power among 
his fellow-craftsmen. In a short time he was 
elected President of the Union. In 1872 he 
married a Miss Devitt, a very estimable 
young woman, who has lived to share in the 
honors which have been bestowed upon him. 
The Knights of Labor had been in existence 
five years before he was aware of the fact. 

The panic of 1873 threw him out of work, compelling him to travel through 
Ohio in search of employment. Returning to Pennsylvania, he secured a 
situation in Oil City. He had been there a very short time when he was 
elected a delegate to the National Convention of Machinists' and Blacksmiths* 
Unions, held at Louisville, Ky., in September, 1874. He exercised a marked 
influence upon that gathering, and displayed those talents which have since 
made him a power in the land. Returning to Scranton, he secured work from 
the Dickson Manufacturing Company. 




TERRENCE V. POWDERLY, 
General Master IVorkman. 



TERRENCE VINCENT POWDERLY. 437 

One night in November, 1874, a friend called at Mr. Powderly's house, 
and asked him to go out for a walk. Mr. Powderly went along. His friend 
told him that there was in existence an organization, then but an infant, but 
which was destined to become a giant. He told Mr. Powderly its aims and 
principles, but, of course, the laws of it forbade him mentioning even its 
name. He conducted Mr. Powderly to a hall in the city of Scranton, and 
when he (Mr. Powderly) left it he was a full-fledged Knight of Labor, 
full of zeal for its welfare, and full of faith in its efficacy " to rescue the toiler 
from the grasp of the selfish." He was now a member of Local Assembly 
No. 88, which was composed of men of all crafts and callings. That night he 
vowed to devote his life to the Order. With that end in view, he set to work 
to bring all the members of his craft in Scranton into the Knights of Labor. 
The result of his labors was that in November, 1876, he was enabled to 
■" found " Local Assembly No. 222, of machinists, of which he is still a member. 
In the meantime, through his efforts, several other Assemblies had been 
started in Lackawanna County. The work was extremely difficult, for at that 
time no man dare even mention the name of the Knights of Labor. The 
organizers had to take one man at a time and "sound" him, and if he was 
deemed discreet, determined, and reliable, he was " covered with the shield " 
of the organization. In the latter part of 1876, Mr. Powderly and his col- 
leagues were enabled to start District Assembly No. 16, with six local Assem- 
blies in the jurisdiction. He was elected Secretary of it, and he still retains 
that position. 

The growth of the Order had now become steady, but slow and healthy, 
but the great labor strike of 1877 drove thousands of Knights of Labor out 
of Pennsylvania. They went to the far West, and Assemblies began to crop 
up wherever they located. Ufi to this time the Order, judged from a national 
stand-point, was run without rudder or compass. Mr. Powderly, with others, 
interested themselves in bringing the Order under one general head. He was 
elected a delegate to the first General Assembly, which was held at Reading, 
Pa., on January 1-4, 1878, and represented District No. 5. He took an active 
part in the deliberations, and was a member of the committee that drafted the 
Constitution which governs the Order. His popularity in the organization 
even at that early day was plainly manifested, for he received 10 votes for 
Grand Master Workman, being second only to Uriah Stephens, who received 
14 votes, and was thereby elected. He was a delegate from District Assembly 
No. 16 to the second General Assembly, which met at St. Louis, January 14- 
17, 1879. H^ worked like a Trojan at that session, serving on three important 
■committees. He was elected Grand Worthy Foreman by this General Assem- 
bly, and filled that office creditably until the following September, when the 
third General Assembly met at Chicago, to which he was also a delegate. 
Grand Master Workman Stephens did not attend the Assembly, hence Mr. 
Powderly, by virtue of his office, filled the Grand Master Workman's chair, and 
he did so creditably. Mr, Stephens had marked Mr. Powderly's abilities, and 
selected him as his successor. In the course of business, Grand Secretary 



43^ TERRENCE VINCENT POWDERLY. 

C. H. Litchman read a letter from Mr. Stephens, who declared that he could 
no longer fill the office, and recommending that either Mr. Povvderly or Richard 
Griffiths, of Chicago, should be elected Grand Master Workman. Mr. Pow- 
derly was elected, receiving 15 votes, or more than three-quarters of the total 
vote cast. He was then only 30 years of age. It is not necessary to speak of 
his efforts from the time he was elected to that exalted position. He has 
devoted night and day to the work, and has travelled through nearly every 
State in the interest of the Order, arbitrating labor troubles, settling strikes, 
raising boycotts, and attending to even routine matters connected with the 
Knights of Labor. At this writing he is serving his seventh term as chief of 
the organization, having been re-elected six times: At Pittsburgh in 1880; at 
Detroit in 1881 ; at New York in 1882; at Cincinnati in 1883; at Philadelphia 
in 1884; and at Hamilton, Canada, in October, 1885. 

Like most Knights of Labor, Mr. Povvderly has always taken an active 
interest in politics. His herculean efforts in behalf of the Order led the 
workingmen of Scranton to place him in the field for Mayor, in the spring of 
1878, much against his wishes. He was pitted against a man of wealth and 
local influence, but he was triumphantly elected. He was only 29 years old 
at the time, making him one of the youngest men ever raised to the chief 
magistracy of a city. Scranton had about 40,000 inhabitants then. He proved 
a model Mayor, and corrected many official abuses. One of his first acts was 
to abolish the Coal and Iron Police, a body of men who ruled with an iron 
hand. He filled their places with Knights of Labor — men upon whom he 
could rely. Before his term was out he was chosen Grand Master Workman 
of the Knights of Labor. He was re-elected Mayor two years later (1880). 
He was supported this time by business men who, two years before, were 
amazed at the idea of a mechanic becoming Mayor. The tone, conduct, and 
results of his administration had won them over. His second administration 
was similar to the first, marked by ability, energy, and fidelity to the people's 
interests, and they rewarded him, in 1882, with a third term. His salary as 
Mayor was $1,500 a year, and his pay as Grand Master Workman was $400. 
One of the good results of his service as Mayor was that the debt of Scranton 
was reduced $20,000. He has been actively identified with the National 
Greenback-Labor party, and was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the party's 
second National Convention, held in Chicago in June, 1880, which nominated 
General Weaver for President. His fellow-citizens would have gladly re- 
elected him in 1884, when his third term expired, but he declined to serve any 
longer; he preferred to devote his attention to the Knights of Labor. 

He has been actively identified with the Irish Nationalist movement. 
Although a thorough American, Mr. Powderly has always felt for the land of 
his father, warmly sympathizing with the Irish people in their struggles for 
liberty, and he has filled high offices in their councils. He also took an active 
part in the Land League movement, and was one of the National Vice- 
Presidents of the Irish Land League of America. 

His influence on the Knights of Labor has been marked. It was mainly 



FREDERICK TURNER. 439 

through his influence that it was transformed from a secret, oath-bound organ- 
ization to what it is now. He is a fluent writer, and his articles on the Labor 
Question have been pubhshed in the leading American magazines. He was 
at one time editor of the Labor Advocate, of Scranton. He has a good com- 
mand of language, and knows how to make himself understood. He is an 
excellent speaker, and his voice has been heard in nearly every city and town 
of note in America. He is about 5 feet 9 inches in height, and of sturdy 
frame. He has a large, finely-shaped head, which now has a scant covering of 
hair. Intelligence is stamped all over his kindly face, which is lit up by a pair 
of large blue eyes. He is a man of the most exemplary character, thoroughly 
honest, earnest, and energetic. He is strictly temperate, never tasting liquor; 
nor does he smoke or use tobacco in any form. He is a poor man in the 
strictest sense of the word. 

After he became connected with the labor movement he was black-listed 
by employers, and compelled to travel through several States in search of 
work. At one time he was so hard pressed that he was obliged to sleep on 
the floor in a railroad depot in Buffalo, with nothing under him but a news- 
paper, which served to keep his clothes clean and to do the duty of a sheet. 
Several years ago he had amassed $1,000, with which he started a grocery 
store in Scranton. It was an unfortunate venture, and he lost every 

dollar. 

He is an indefatigable worker, and as a rule spends fourteen hours a day 
in his ofiice in Scranton. He has been known to have opened, read, and 
arranged answers for 400 letters in one day. Take him all in all, he is a 
splendid specimen of the American character, and organized labor is fortunate 
in having for a leader such a man as Terrence V. Powderly. 



FREDERICK TURNER, 

GENERAL SECRETARY-TREASURER OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 

Second in importance to the General Master Workman is the General 
Secretary-Treasurer of the Knights of Labor. The growth, interest, and wel- 
fare of the Order are largely dependent upon him. Frederick Turner, of 
District Assembly No. i of Philadelphia, holds that position now. Mr. Turner 
is an Englishman by birth, and thoroughly American in his ideas and prin- 
ciples. He was born in 1846. Ten years later he came to America, and 
settled in Philadelphia. 

He spent several years in the public schools; then he entered the high- 
school, which he left with a fair education. He then learned the gold-beating 
trade. He joined the Knights of Labor in 1873, and shortly afterward induced 
the goldbeaters of Philadelphia to organize Local Assembly No. 20. He set 



440 



JOHN WILLIAM HAYES. 



to work to bring the craft throughout the country into the Order. With 
that end in view, he organized Local Assembly No. 28 of goldbeaters, in 
New York City, of which Henry G. Taylor, now chief clerk at the head- 

quarters of the Knights of Labor, was a 
leading member. This Assembly is now 
dead. His activity in the labor movement 
made him a marked man, and he found it 
impossible to get work. He then opened a 
grocery store, which he still owns. 

He has been a local, a district, and a 
general officer. He was a delegate from 
District No. i to the General Assembly 
which met in Cincinnati in September, 1883, 
and was elected General Secretary. He was 
re-elected at Philadelphia in 1884; and at 
Hamilton, Canada, in 1885. The offices of 
Secretary and Treasurer were rolled into one 
at Philadelphia in September, 1884, and he 
was elected to fill the dual position. Mr. 
Turner is a resident of Philadelphia, and by 
the laws of the Knights of Labor the home 
of the Secretary-Treasurer is the headquarters 
of the Order. Mr. Turner presides over the 
general office, which is situated at No. 500 Locust Street, Philadelphia. He 
furnishes all charters, supplies, documents, and literature used by the organ- 
ization. 

The work is so great that fifteen clerks are constantly employed there. 
Mr. Turner frequently receives 500 letters in a day. During the month of 
February, 1886, he issued no less than 515 charters. At this writing (April 3, 
1886) over 1,000 applications for charters were on file at the office. He is 
editor of the official journal of the K. of L., and by virtue of his office as 
Secretaiy Mr. Turner is also a member of the Executive Board. He frequently 
travels thousands of miles to arbitrate labor difficulties, to order strikes, to put 
on or raise boycotts. He figured prominently in the recent conferences with 
Jay Gould diiring the railroad troubles in the Southwest. 




FREDERICK TURNER, 
General Secretary-Treasurer. 



JOHN WILLIAM HAYES. 

The youngest member of the General Executive Board is John William 
Hayes, of New Brunswick, N. J., a most efficient officer. He was born on 
December 26, 1854, in Philadelphia, Pa., the home of the Order. When but 
a child he was taken by his parents to Ireland, where he lived until he had 
grown up. Returning to New Jersey, he secured a place as brakeman on the 
Pennsylvania Road in 1870, and retained it until 1878. He joined the Knights 



HON. CHARLES H. LITCHMAN. 



441 



of Labor in 1874, and at once became a most zealous worker, attracting the 
attention of Uriah S. Stephens, who ever afterward was his friend. 

On the 4th of May, 1878, he was commissioned as an organizer, on the rec- 
ommendation of District Assembly No. i of 
Philadelphia. It was during that year that 
he met with a frightful accident which nearly 
ended his life. One night, while on his way 
to form an Assembly of the Knights of 
Labor, he fell from a freight car on to the 
track. The wheels passed over his right 
arm, mangling it frightfully, and rendering 
amputation necessary. This was a terrible 
blow to young Hayes, but he went to 
work manfully and learned telegraphy. He 
worked as an operator until 1883. He 
was a delegate to District Assembly No. 
45, which met in Chicago that year and 
ordered the great telegraphers' strike, which 
occurred in the summer of that year. 

His activity during this strike cost him 
his position. The Western Union Company 
black-listed him. He then went into the 
grocery business in New Brunswick, and he 
is still engaged in it. He was one of the founders of the New Jersey Trade 
and Labor Congress, which was formed in 1879, and he was President of it for 
two terms. He was a delegate to the General Assembly which met at Phila- 
delphia, September, 1884, and was then elected a member of the Executive 
Board. He was re elected at Hamilton, Canada, in 1885. 




JOHN W. HAYES, 
Executive Board. 



HON. CHARLES H. LITCHMAN, 

FIRST GRAND SECRETARY. 

Hon. Charles H. Litchman, of Marblehead, Mass., is a man to whom is 
due much of the success which has greeted the Knights of Labor. He was 
born on April 8, 1849, i^ ^^^ town in which he still resides. He was educated 
in the public schools until he was fifteen years of age, when he became a 
salesman for his father, a shoe manufacturer. When twenty-one years of age 
he went into the shoe business with his brother. He was a member of the firm 
four years, or until 1874, when he began to study law. Lack of money forced 
him to abandon his studies and to seek employment as a shoemaker. He was 
elected a member of the School Board, and was instrumental in bringing aboat 
the free book system. 

He was an unsuccessful Republican nominee for the State Legislature in 
1876 and 1877. Iri 1878 he "stumped" Massachusetts for General Butler, 
then a candidate for Governor. The same year the Greenback-Labor party 
sent him to the Legislature. He devoted all of his attention during the 



442 



WILLIAM H. BAILEY. 



session of 1879 to the question of convict labor. He succeeded in forcing the 

appointment of a special committee, which 
travelled through Massachusetts, New York, 
and Pennsylvania, in search of information on 
the convict labor question. He was chairm.an 
of the committee. Mr. Litchman was elected 
Grand Scribe of the Massachusetts Grand 
Lodge of the Knights of St. Crispin in 1876. 

He joined the Knights of Labor in New 
York City in 1877, and he was largely instru- 
mental in forming the General Assembly in 
1878, to which he was a delegate. He was 
the first Grand Secretary, and was re-elected 
three times. He was the first Secretary of the 
Insurance Fund. He was a delegate to the 
National Labor Convention at Chicago, in 
June, 1880, of which body he was Secretary; 
and a delegate to the same party's Convention 
at Indianapolis in 1884. He is high up in the 
councils of the Freemasons, Odd Fellows, the 
Red Men, the Royal Arcanum, and Past Grand 
Commander of the Massachusetts Commandery of the American Legion of 
Honor. He has ably managed several papers as editor, and as a speaker he 
is known all over the country. Like his colleagues, Messrs. Powderly and 
Beaumont, he is strictly temperate. 




HON. CHARLES H. LITCHMAN, 
First Grand Secretary. 



WILLIAM H. BAILEY. 

William H. Bailey, the Ohio member of 
the General Executive Board, is a Canadian 
by birth, having been born in Hamilton, 
Canada, in 1846. His parents settled down 
in Ohio when he was a child. He received 
a common school education. As soon as he 
was able he went to work at coal mining, 
which calling he has followed most of his 
life. He joined the Knights of Labor about 
ten years ago, and is one of the leading 
members of District Assembly No. 7. He 
was an organizer for years, and his activity 
in that capacity gained him a place on the 
black-lists of the mining corporations of Ohio. 

He found it impossible to get employ- 
ment, and was preparing to leave Ohio, 
when the citizens of Shawnee made him 




WILLIAM H. BAILKY. 
Gtneral Executive Board. 



RALPH BEAUMONT. 



443 



Chief of Police. He has frequently been a delegate to the General Assembly, 
and was elected a member of the General Executive Board of the Knights 
of Labor in 1884, and was re-elected in 1885. He is a quiet, unassuming 
man, of fine physique. He distinguished himself in settling the great glovers' 
strike at Gloversville, N. Y., and the mill strike at Cohoes, N. Y., in the spring 
of 1886. These strikes involved 20,000 persons, and one of them had lasted 
months. 



RALPH BEAUMONT, 

ELECTED FIRST GRAND WORTHY FOREMAN, 1 878- 1 882. 

Ralph Beaumont, of Addison, N. Y., is one of the leading members of the 
Knights of Labor, and is noted in labor circles as a brilliant speaker, a 
thorough organizer, and a fluent writer. He was born in Yorkshire, England, 
on April 7, 1844, and he was but little more 
than an infant when his parents came to 
America, settling down at Dudley, Mass. 
His father was a spinner. Ralph went to the 
public school until he reached his tenth 
year, when stern necessity compelled him to 
begin to earn a living. 

He was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and 
he followed the shoemaking trade for eight 
years. The story of the war for the preser- 
vation of the Union fired his young heart, 
and although only eighteen years old at the 
time, he joined the Seventh Rhode Island 
Regiment, and served his country until white- 
winged peace again hovered over the land. 
He then settled down in Elmira, N. Y., and » 
resumed his trade. It is nearly twenty years 
since he entered the labor movement. His 
ability as a speaker soon gained him a reputa- 
tion, which time has brightened. He was 
one of the charter members of Local Assembly No. 204 of the Knights of 
Labor, which was organized in Elmira years ago. He was a member of the 
first General Assembly of the Order at Reading, Pa., in 1878. 

By a flattering vote he was elected first Grand Worthy Foreman of the 
Order. Four years later, when the General Assembly met in New York City, 
he was again raised to that dignity. Since then he has served two terms on the 
Co-operative Board. At the General Assembly which met at Cincinnati in 
September, 1883, he was a formidable nominee for Grand Master Workman, 
but he was not anxious to get the position. He took an active part in the 
National Labor party movement, and was a candidate for Congress in 1878, 
and polled 10,000 \-otcr. 




RALPH BEAUMONT, 
First Grand Worthy Foreman. 



444 



HOMER L. McGAW.— THOMAS B. BARRY. 



He has spoken on the labor question in most of the principal cities. For 
the past six years he has been engaged as a newspaper writer. Mr. Beaumont 
is a married man, and the father of four children. He is strictly temperate, 
using neither liquor nor tobacco in any form. 



HOMER L. McGAW, 

GENERAL INSURANCE SECRETARY OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 

Homer L. McGaw, the General Insurance Secretary of the Knights of 
Labor, was born in Bethlehem, Stark County, Ohio, on April 8, 1848, of 
Scotch-Irish parentage. When only seven years of age he entered a country 

printing-office as devil. He afterward served 
in the War of the Rebellion as a drummer- 
boy. He paid his way through college with 
the money saved while in the army, and grad- 
uated with honors. He has lived in Pitts- 
burgh for twenty-one years, and has held 
many positions of trust and responsibility, 
being cashier of a bank before he was twenty- 
one years old. 

For many years he has conducted a print- 
ing-office. He organized one of the first 
Assemblies of the Knights of Labor west of 
the Allegheny Mountains, in his printing- 
office, also assisting in organizing District 
Assembly No. 3, the first District in the West, 
whose limits at one time included Iowa. 

At the session of the General Assembly of 
the Order held at Cincinnati in 1883, Mr. 
McGaw was elected to the office of General 
Insurance Secretary, and at each succeeding session he has been re-elected 
by acclamation. He has succeeded in building up within the Order a system 
of life insurance, which, for $500 indemnity, costs but the trifle of one cent 
per day. Great good has already been accomplished by the insurance feature 
of the Order— the widows and orphans of its members have been relieved, 
and the desolate hearthstones made bright and happy. At last reports the 
fund was getting 300 members a month. 




HOMER L. McGAW, 
Get!. Ins. Secretary. 



THOMAS B. BARRY. 

The Hon. Thomas B. Barry, member of the General Executive Board of 
the Knights of Labor, was born on July. 17, 1852, in Cohoes, Albany County, 
N. Y. He went to work in a cotton-mill when eight years of age, and 



JOHN G. CAVILLE. 



445 



worked fourteen and sixteen hours a day, until he was sixteen, when he be- 
came an axe-maker. He afterward worked at his trade in Cleveland, Ohio. 
He took part in a now famous strike there and mortgaged his property to 
supply the strikers with funds. The strike 
failed and Mr. Barry lost whatever property 
he had, $6,000 in all. He then moved to 
East Saginaw, Michigan, from which city he 
was sent to the Legislature in 1884. He was 
the author of the Ten-Hour Law which ob- 
tains in Michigan. 

Mr. Barry joined the Knights of Labor 
over twelve years ago, and has been an or- 
ganizer since 1880. He has been a delegate 
to the General Assembly of the Knights of 
Labor several times. • He was elected to 
the General Executive Board at Cincinnati in 
1883, and re-elected at Hamilton, Canada, 
in 1S85. ■ 

The famous strike of the Saginaw Valley -.^^ 
saw-mill employes began on July 10, 1885, 
and by an almost unanimous vote he was 
asked to lead it. Six days later he was ar- thomas b. barry, 

, i . . , , 1 • 1 . Member of General Executive Board. 

rested twice and charged with conspiracy. 

Two days still later he was arrested on the same charge. He had to furnish 
$6,000 bail on each charge. He was again arrested on the same charge, and 
a civil suit for $10,000 was instituted against him. He was tried for con- 
spiracy in January, 1886, and he had an imposing array of counsel who were 
retained by the workingmen of Michigan, who raised a large " defence fund." 
The jury was out twenty-four hours, but it failed to find Mr. Barry guilty. 
Mr. Barry is a man of family and is strictly temperate. 




JOHN G. CAVILLE. 



Mr. John G. Caville, of Brooklyn, N. Y., General Auditor of the Knights of 
Labor, and the first man to hold that office, is a native of the City of 
Churches. He was born on Thanksgiving day, 1855. He began work when 
only nine years of age. When fifteen years of age he went to Davenport, 
Iowa, in 1870, and became travelling agent for a hardware house. Returning 
to Brooklyn he married an estimable young woman. He secured a responsible 
position in an ink house and remained there several years. 

He joined the Knights of Labor in 1880, and he helped to organize the 
Spread the Light Club, a noted labor reform organization, which served as a re- 
cruiting office for the Knights in Brooklyn. He has been Secretary of District 
Assembly No, 49, and represented it in the Philadelphia General Assembly in 
1884, which body created and elected him to the office of General Auditor. 



444 

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